The Dreamer
by OkaAyamo
Summary: She is Tezuka's sister, and her dream is to become the best woman tennis player in the world. What's going to happen on her journey to fulfill her dream? Will she make it come true, and will she face many problems in her journey? RyomaxOC
1. The Captain's Sister

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the character in Prince of Tennis, but I do own my OC(s) and this fanfic's plot.

A/N: This is the re-done version!

The Dreamer

Serve1: The Captain's Sister

~Menou's POV~

I looked up slightly to the falling cherry blossoms' petals. They danced with the wind so gracefully. Shifting my bag from my left hand to my right, I walked slowly towards the tennis court. The first day of school had been quite wonderful. I met my primary school' friends, glad that some of them were now my classmates. Moreover, I was happy that I was in the same school with my older brother.

Talking of him, I had not seen him all day. I bet he was busy with his club. He was the captain after all. All of my friends had gone to their respective clubs. While I myself…Well, I had yet to decide. Maybe I would join tennis club again…or should I try another club? I wish I were my brother, but in truth, I was not. With a sigh, I walked slowly towards the girls' tennis club.

The procedure of registration went on smoothly, although I could see a mischievous glint in the eyes of the coach. And the rest of the girls' current regulars surprised face upon seeing my name. I was used to it tough, living as a sister of a perfect tennis player. Before they had a chance to interrogate me, I excused myself politely and headed towards the boys' courts, eager to meet my brother and his friends.

Humming softly, I walked down the way with my sport bags slung over my right shoulder and my racquet held in my left hand. I had taken off my glasses and put it on my bag. It really did not bother me, since I still could see clearly without putting my spectacles on. Half-way through, I overheard an argument occurring on the court. And I being myself could not help but to curiously take a look, so that I walked into the court. Luckily, they did not notice my presence.

In the court was a rather tall boy – probably a senior – and a shorter boy with a cap. The boy had black hair with captivating greenish-gold eyes. Behind the shorter were three boys looking the same age as me. They seemed to be rather scared and shocked. The senior was now threatening the boy with a cap, raising his fist. I felt the need to stop the fight.

"Ah!" I interrupted his movement with a sudden shout.

The senior stopped and turned to me, staring with an icy glare. Maybe it was not a good idea after all, as he now approached me. I tried to run, but behind me was a wire fence, and I was trapped. He towered me and bore his gaze into my hazel eyes. I cowered down slightly in fear, but unable to break the gaze.

"Who the hell are you?" He almost growled.

I squeaked in fear, but managed to give an answer. "Ah, I just wanted to ask where I could find my brother, but-"

"Answer my question!" He shouted at me.

By then, I had covered my head with my hand. It seemed to anger him even more and he raised his hand to hit me. I had prepared for the blow, but it never came. Instead I heard him taking a sharp breath as if he was surprised by something. Opening my eyes, I saw a tennis ball rolled next to my feet. Apparently, someone had hit the wire fence very near to him to scare and halted his action.

"It's not good messing up with freshmen, Arai," a spiky-haired boy said smirking.

The senior named Arai hastily stepped back and ran away. His friends followed suit afterwards. I assumed the newcomer was also a senior, seeing his height and appearance. After Arai-senpai was out of sight, I let out a sigh of relief and slumped into the ground. My feet had turned into a jelly, it seemed.

Grinning, the spiky-haired senior approached me, offering a hand to help me up. "Are you okay?"

I nodded, grinning a bit, and took his extended hand. "Yeah, thank you."

When I had fully stood up, he frowned. He bent down and started to examine me closely. I felt uncomfortable and took several steps back. Rubbing his chin thoughtfully, he narrowed his eyes as he stared at me.

"You look strangely familiar..." He trailed off.

I was about to reply when someone called my name. From the entrance, I saw my brother standing. His messy dark brown hair shone under the sun. From behind his glasses, I saw a concern inside those brown eyes. Smiling, I ran passed my senior in front of me and to my elder brother. I hugged him around his torso, for he was much taller than me. I could tell he was pissed off, but upon seeing me shaking in fear, even it was just a bit, he seemed to soften a little.

"Where were you? I said to you not to walk around after the school," he said sternly.

I pulled away and rubbed the back of my head. "I'm sorry, Kunimitsu-nii."

"Kunimitsu-nii?" I heard someone shouted loudly from behind; it was the spiky-haired one.

Pointing at me, he shouted his question, "Tezuka-buchou! Since when do you have a sister?"

My brother narrowed his eyes. "Since the time she was born ten years ago."

I almost sweat-dropped at his dull answer, but shrugged it off. My brother introduced me to the spiky-haired guy, whose name I learned was Momoshiro – Momo, for short – and he in second year. Behind him, I spotted the four freshmen starting to walk away from the court, but Momo-senpai turned and stopped the boy with a cap. Before I could further listen to the conversation, I had been ordered strictly by my dear brother to go to the coach's room. I did not argue with him.

Knocking on the door, I was again greeted by the same coach I met previously. The woman had to be good, since she trained both boys and girls. She grinned widely upon noticing me, immediately knowing I was Tezuka Kunimitsu's sister. I nodded shyly and took a seat on a chair next to her. She introduced herself to me and vice versa, and then we sat in silence, with her occasionally humming. Patiently, I waited for my brother.

When he finally returned, he looked rather serious. I glanced at him and him to me, but there was no words being exchanged. He asked the coach whether they should prepare the match to decide the regulars. I was quite curious about it, but I knew it was not my business. The coach did not answer; instead, she went behind him and leaned against the wall next to the window.

"So are you putting that new boy, Echizen Ryoma, on the match?" She questioned.

Mentally, I asked myself, who was this Echizen Ryoma? Could it be that guy who had greenish-gold eyes?

My brother remained silent and took a sheet of paper with a pen. The coach shrugged at his reaction and looked outside the window.

She smirked suddenly. "My, my, it seems Momo is having match with Ryoma."

Kunimitsu-nii stopped writing and he calmly stood up and went to the window. I slowly went to the empty spot next to my brother and watched. On one side I recognized as Momo, while on the opposite one was the capped guy – I concluded he was the one called Echizen Ryoma. The three of us stared at the match between Ryoma and Momo. As I looked up, I saw my brother crossed his arms and gazed at the new student. Suddenly, he shifted his gaze to me and told me to go. Without saying a word, I nodded walked out of the room. I understood he would want to discuss with the coach, but his cold way sometimes hurt me.

I pushed the thought off my head and strolled down to the court. Interested at the match, I halted to watch the game. Near the wire fence stood five figures. Three was the previous freshmen she saw before and two others were girls of her age. One with pigtails was cheering loudly and excitedly for Ryoma. The other was trying to calm her friend down, speaking softly. I giggled at the sight, but did nothing.

"Menou-chan, it's very unlikely of you to watch someone's game other than me or your brother."A voice came from behind me suddenly.

I jumped in surprise and spun around, squeaking in surprise, only to meet a smiling Fuji Shusuke.

"Fuji!" I tried to look angry, but failed miserably.

His smiled always made me forget my anger to him.

I huffed and crossed my arms, but a smile lingered in my lips. "Well, it seems I have added another person into my list."

He took a step so that he was standing directly next to me, shoving his hands into his pockets. "So, who are playing?"

"Momo-senpai and Echizen Ryoma-kun," I murmured.

"Uh-huh," he said. "So, who're you interested in?"

I blushed at his comment. "What?"

Which one: Momo or Echizen?" He asked with a teasing grin.

"N-no one!" I stammered.

He rubbed his chin with one hand. "Hmm, I assumed it's Ryoma, since you're his age and he's more of your type."

"Am not!" I retorted, but the blush refused to go away.

"Your deeper blush says otherwise." Fuji smiled happily. "I've got to tell Tezuka about your crush. Is this your first crush?"

"No! Well, no for telling my brother…but yes, this is my first crush." Shit, I did it again. Me and my stupid mouth.

"Uh, what I mean…it's the first…but I don't have a crush…so, no, but…Ah, this is so confusing!" I screamed at the end of my sentence.

The light-brown haired tennis player chuckled and patted her head. "Don't think too much, your head will burst."

I sighed, crossed my arms, and pouted childishly. "If it's burst, you're to blame."

He grinned widely. "I'll take the blame."

"Don't tell my brother, please?" I pleaded.

"I won't," he answered softly.

I smiled at him. It was so clear why he was admired by many girls, and I was so lucky he was Kunimitsu-nii best friend. I watched the match again, and found myself mesmerized by Ryoma. The way he played was so wonderful that it took my breath away. Spotting the sun nearing the edge of the land, something clicked in my head. I looked at my watch and cursed.

"Something's wrong?" Fuji asked upon noticing me cursing.

"I am late for my English course!" I screamed, and without looking back, ran as fast as my feet could.

From the distant, I could hear Fuji's chuckles, but I was not in the right time to worry about that. I was late and Kawada-sensei would definitely punish me…

Standing with a bucket full of water in my head in a hall was not an option!


	2. Secret Crush

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the character in Prince of Tennis, but I do own my OC(s) and this fanfic's plot.

A/N: This is the re-done version!

The Dreamer Serve2

Secret Crush

~Menou's POV~

Unsurely, I raised my fist, only to lower it down again. I bit my lower lip, hesitant to knock on the door. My brother did not like to be disturbed when he was in his room, but I had to ask him now. Taking a deep breath, I braced myself to knock on the door softly.

No answer.

I repeated the action again, and this time there was a sigh, followed by a 'come in'. Entering my brother's room and closing the door silently, I walked to his bed and sat down on it. He was on his chair, facing the desk, doing his homework, I supposed. I played with my nails nervously, knowing very well he was not in a mood for a talk. His back was faced to me while he scribbled down his answer quietly. The quietness was going to kill me someday.

"Kunimitsu-nii, do you think it's a right choice for me to join the tennis club?" I finally asked, still feeling slightly uncomfortable with the silence.

"I have no exact answer," he answered, writing something on his book.

I sighed softly. It was hard sometimes to have a brother like him, to receive such a short, implied reply with no real answer to your own inquiry. Yet his respond gave me an impression that he wanted to be left alone in his sanctuary. I got off from his bed, stealing a glance at him and hoping he would turn around to at least face me. When I was certain, he would not, I turned the door knob.

"Menou," his cool voice called me.

I turned my head to meet his solemn face. "Yes?"

He sighed softly. "Whatever you do, never regret it." At the end of his sentence, he turned back to face his desk.

Smiling, I felt greatly grateful for his words. Even if it was short, even if it seemed cold, I knew he did care about me from that simple sentence.

"I will. Thanks a lot," I grinned and opened the door, closing it quietly.

Back in my room – opposite of my brother's room – I sat down on my bed. After a while, I laid down on the soft mattress. Thank God I did not have any homework. Next to my bed was my racquet. I picked it up and trailed the frame. It was light but strong, suitable for me. Smiling, I put it back on the desk next to my bed. As I pictured the tennis club, a certain face appeared in my mind.

It was a face of a certain gold-green-eyed boy with a cap.

I frowned. Why did his face appear on my head out of the blue? My brother and coach Ryuzaki talked about him, how great he was in tennis. I bet he had to be in the ranking match. Also, I remembered about the girl tennis club giving a space for a freshman in a ranking match. From what I heard – a rumour – I was getting the place. Even if I was not an expert, my experience from playing for four years was not in vain. As compared to other first years, I was better, although not good enough to be a regular.

Again, his face came to my mind. I shook my head vehemently, wishing his face would fade away. Yet, my effort seemed to be futile. His face reappeared in my head. His confident voice, his arrogant yet interesting way to talk, and his skills in tennis…I wished I was as good as him. With that thought plastered in my mind, I fell into a deep slumber.

I moaned softly as the bright sun ray hit my face. Rubbing my eyes lazily, I reached out blindly for my alarm clock. My vision was still blurry, and I could not make out the time. After several seconds, I could see cleared, realising it was seven ten. My mind slowly registered that I had to reach school by seven thirty, and by then I was still in my pajamas. As soon as the reality dawned upon me, I jumped out of my bed, tripping on the blanket.

"I'm late!" I screamed unnecessarily, heading towards the bathroom.

Within five minutes, I was out of the bathroom with damp hair and messy uniforms. I grabbed my school bag and rushed out of my room with comb on my free hand. Descending down the stairs towards the dining room, I spotted my brother sipping his drink calmly and my mother smiling at me.

"Morning, Menou," she greeted, "You're late again, dear."

I brushed my hair roughly and swiftly, and then put the comb on the table. "I know, Mum."

Sighing, I took a piece of toasted bread and bit it. "I need to buy another alarm, I think."

"I'm going now," my brother suddenly announced, standing up and closing his eyes.

"Wait!" I shrieked when he had started to put on his shoes.

Eating my bread quickly, I bid a good-bye to my mother. Hastily, I put on my shoes and ran to join my brother, who was already walking away. I panted as I caught up with him. He gave me a sideways glance, silently telling me about my still-messy appearance. Flushing slightly, I tidied up my uniforms and my hair. I had no time to put my hair into my usual style, so I left it hanging freely. We walked in silence until we reached the school and separated, going to our own class.

My last period was Science, and the teacher was absent. I was grateful for that, since the teacher, for no apparent reason, detested me and always made life hard for me by scolding me all the time for something I did not do. He gave us a task to find a reference book though, and so I decided to go to the library. Bringing my stationery, notebooks, and spectacles, I headed towards the library. Luckily, the place was still empty by the time I reached there. I took an empty seat and placed my things on the table. I had already taken some books when some more pupils came and took their own seats. Smiling, I placed the books on the table and began reading.

I was so absorbed in my own task that I did not realise another group was coming.

"Echizen, it's so crowded! Where should we sit?" A loud voice came, which was immediately hushed by the librarian.

Looking up, I spotted a group of students, certainly not from my class since I knew almost no one, but one certain guy. Echizen Ryoma was looking around lazily as his friends frantically tried to find a seat. His greenish-gold eyes accidentally met my hazel one. I blushed involuntarily, and quickly hid my face using my book. The next thing I knew was that he was standing on the opposite side of my table. He said nothing though, only staring blankly, and I felt myself blushing more profusely. His friends quickly gathered around him and took a seat by their own accord.

His friends started to murmur. Out of the blue, the empty seats next to my right and left were filled. I looked to my right and left to see the two girls cheering the day before. The girls in two pigtails grinned and gazed at the guy in front of me dreamily. The other girl in twin-plaited-style only shyly glanced at the same guy, blushing a bit. Slowly, I lowered my book, and was faced with three boys staring hard at me.

"See! I told you it's the girl from yesterday!" One said loudly, getting a harsh glare from the librarian.

Another boy spoke quietly, "You're the one who stopped Arai-senpai, right?"

I blinked, recalling the events. "Uh, yeah, sort of."

One last bald boy also joined in. "You're Tezuka-buchou's sister, right?"

Gulping nervously, I nodded. I always felt uncomfortable with new people, and so preparing myself to run out of the table and found my classmates.

"I'm Ryuzaki Sakuno, nice to meet you," the plaited-haired introduced herself politely with a small smile.

I automatically smiled back; she seemed quite nice. "My name is Tezuka Menou, nice to meet you too."

"I'm Tomoka! Ryoma-sama's number one fan!" the other girl said excitedly, and loudly.

"N-Nice to meet you too," I replied, scared by the deadly glare the librarian was giving towards our table.

The three boys also introduced themselves, Horio, Kachiro, and Katsuo. The last one was Echizen, or Ryoma. I decided to call him Ryoma and the others with their first name too, since they also called me with my first name. Sighing, I opened my book again, as they all went to search for the books. I put on my spectacles and tied my hair in low ponytail as not to disturb my reading. Tomo returned fast, with Sakuno behind her, and sat down. Ryoma also came back with a book and started to read.

"You know, you look a lot like Tezuka-buchou when you're wearing glasses," Tomo suddenly said.

I sweat dropped and smiled nervously. "Uh, he's my brother, as in, blood-brother. We have the same parents. We should look alike."

Tomo grinned and leaned back against her seat. I sighed and started writing something on my notebook. I scanned through it and wrote some important notes. While doing that, once every a while, I stole a secret glance from the quiet boy, admiring him while recalling about his play the day before. There were limited numbers of people I admired. I had admired my brother for the longest time, the second was Fuji, and the newest and the third one was Ryoma. Ryoma was my age, but he had ability that could be compared to her brother. So much of a different world from me, I mentally sighed.

When I tried to take another glance, our eyes met again. I blushed red and quickly broke the contact. From the corner of my eyes, I saw him shrugging nonchalantly. Well, at least he did not realize I liked him, thankfully so. For him to think I was his fan girl was the last thing I wanted him to do.

I needed to say that I felt sort of relieved when the bell rang. It allowed me to escape this awkward atmosphere. Quickly, I put back the book I had taken, leaving all my stuff behind. When I returned to the table, they were all gone. I felt a bit disappointed, but I shrugged the feeling off. Tidying up all my stationeries and books, I took off my glasses and walked out of the library.

Not too long after I got out of the library, I heard someone calling for me excitedly.

Looking around, I finally noticed the cheerful, cat-like third grader. "Hi, Eiji!"

Eiji literally hopped towards me, looking all bubbly and energetic. Behind him, I saw Oishi smiled as he watched his partner, walking slowly. Next to him was Fuji, who was chuckling and walking as leisurely towards me.

Taking one last jump, he landed right in front of me, grinning. "So, where are you going now?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. School's just ended. Going to tennis practice, perhaps?"

"Great! Then let's go together!" He beamed. "Come on, hurry up!"

His enthusiasm was contagious. I could not help but getting high as well. I grinned and strode towards him. "I'm coming, I'm coming!"

Behind us, the two much calmer third graders casually followed us. They were not affected by Eiji's excitement the slightest bit. To be frank, I found it difficult not to get influenced by Eiji's enthusiasm.

"So," the dark-brown-hair guy began, as he stopped hopping, "I heard you finally have your first crush." He ended the sentence with a big, mischievous grin.

I gaped at him, and turned sharply to Fuji. "You! Why, you-"

The light-brown-haired guy smiled innocently. "Hmm? If I remember correctly, I was not supposed to tell Tezuka, _only _Tezuka, right?"

My jaw dropped even wider. I recalled what I said the day before, and his argument did make sense. Oh crap...

Mentally slapping myself, I made a mental note: choose your words _very_ carefully when you talk to Fuji Shusuke.

"Since you're not denying it, it seems it's true after all," Oishi said, a gentle smile on his face.

Eiji was grinning at me. For some reasons, his eyes seemed to suddenly increase in size and have a lot of sparkles on them. "Who's it? Who's it?"

"No telling," I responded hastily, looking away.

The moment Eiji stared at me with a big, puppy eyes, I knew I was going to lose. He pouted and stared hard at me. I gulped and raised my hands in defense, trying my best not to fall for that cute puppy look of his.

"Please?" He asked in a sweet voice, causing me to hold my breath. "Pretty please?"

I opened my mouth, trying to retaliate. From the corner of my eyes, I can see the other two seniors chuckling and smiling. Eiji was not going to drop the subject off until I answered it.

Unable to resist his puppy eyes, I finally gave up. I was never good handling pressure from others anyway. "Okay, fine."

As soon as the words left my lips, Eiji cheered in triumph. I sighed and face-palmed. There was no escape.

"Sooooooo, who's it?" Eiji questioned me enthusiastically.

"It's not a crush, okay?" I tried to defend myself. "It's only...an interest."

Apparently, he chose to ignore those few words. I sighed again and replied, "You know that freshman-"

He cut me off before I finished my sentence, "O-chibi? You mean Echizen-kun?"

I frowned at the nickname, but nodded nonetheless. I could feel my cheeks burning when I admitted it.

Eiji grinned and put an arm around my shoulders. "I can help if you want."

"No, thank you!" I shoved him away, my face reddened if it was possible, to which he laughed.

Thank goodness, Oishi decided it was the time to interrupt. "Come on. Tezuka-buchou must be waiting for us."

I nodded vigorously in agreement, shooing them away with my hands. "Yup! Don't make him wait!"

The three seniors only grinned at me, since my blush had not completely disappeared and I surely looked panic. They bid me good-bye and walked – or ran – towards the tennis court. Phew, at least, I was safe, at the moment.

Seeing the time, I quickly rushed towards the girls' changing room. I did not want to be late for training...even if the training only meant to pick up balls.

When I finished changing, I headed towards the field and surely enough, I was told to pick up balls all around the courts, together with the other first year. I noticed Sakuno on the other side of the court, so I quietly approached her. When I reached there, I greeted her, to which she smiled back gratefully.

We were picking up some balls when someone shouted for the junior to take a box of balls to the boys' side. I was the closest to the box and the senior automatically pointed at me. I nodded and glanced at Sakuno, telling her silently that I was going for a while. She seemed to get what I meant as she nodded.

I carried the heavy box and headed towards the boys' court; my mind sometimes drifted away, thinking about a certain boy with gold-green eyes instead of the practice.


	3. A Chance

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the character in Prince of Tennis, but I do own my OC(s) and this fanfic's plot.

A/N: This is the re-done version! I just read the old one and realized it was terrible...

* * *

The Dreamer

Serve3: A Chance

* * *

~Menou's POV~

My journey to the boys' tennis court ended really fast. I looked around to find Coach Ryuzaki. Sure enough, she was standing on the side of the court, watching the boys practicing. I did not call out to her, but she noticed me when I stood close enough to the entrance door to the court.

"Menou, glad to see you! Thanks for bringing the balls!" She grinned, waving me to come over.

I nodded and smiled back, entering the court. Slowly, I put down the box next to her on the ground. I took the chance to glance through the whole court, spotting my brother watching over the other members training. His arms were folded over his chest, a serious look on his face. His eyes were scanning the other players and specifically, the newer ones.

Outside the court's fence, behind him, there was a group of girls giggling. I could not help but giggle. Even with his permanent solemn expression, many girls were attracted to him. He was good-looking, though, I had to admit.

Coach Ryuzaki chuckled. "Your brother is doing his job well."

By job, the coach meant finding the best players within the club. Both Coach Ryuzaki and he were the people responsible to choose the regulars. He was the captain after all. Only the really capable people were the one chosen for the selection tournament to become regulars. A small sigh escaped my lips. I was still far from that stage.

"By the way, Menou," the coach broke the silence between us, "Are you willing to try to become a regular?"

...

"Huh?" I answered dumbly, stunned.

She laughed at my face. I guessed I looked like an idiot. "Do I have to repeat?"

I gulped. "Seriously? But why me?"

The long-haired coach grinned good-naturedly. "I'm serious, really serious. I mean, more than half of the regulars have graduated. And it feels more refreshing to have a freshman around in the group."

She looked at me. "And according to your brother, you've played for quite a long time. You're quite experienced, as compared to the other freshmen."

It was true. I had been playing tennis ever since I was about nine years old. Talking about experience, I really had more than the other girls. I knew that some girls just started playing when they came to Seigaku. I guessed all the hard work throughout those few years really paid off.

"Thank you." I smiled up at her shyly. "I-It means a lot."

She laughed happily and ruffled my hair. "Don't be too happy yet. The ranking match is waiting!"

Nodding, I bowed at her slightly. I did not even realize my brother had approached us. He was staring at me and my broad smile. He looked back and forth between the coach and me.

"Tezuka," Coach Ryuzaki began, patting my head. "I'm putting your sister for the girls' ranking match."

My elder brother gave a slight nod. The coach frowned at his response, expecting him to be happier. However, I knew deep inside he was glad for me. He did not have to say it. The way he patted my head before walking away was enough to tell me about his feeling. He was the one who told the coach about me. I was truly delighted to have a brother like him.

As I scanned the court, my eyes fell on Ryoma...again. It was not that I tried to find him. It was just that he was always there when I was looking around.

...

Okay, that was a lie.

I did look for him...a bit.

"Hey, Menou," Coach Ryuzaki said suddenly, thankfully stopping me from thinking too much.

"Go back to the girls' court and stop staring!" She added in a teasing voice.

Blushing, I nodded and quickly scurried away. It was so embarrassing!

I arrived back at the girls' side of the courts and quickly looked around to find my own captain. Sure enough, she was there, standing with both of her hands on her hips. Her short light brown hair shone under the bright sun. Her gaze was set on the members who were training hard. I wondered whether I should approach her.

Thankfully, she noticed me before I did anything. She grinned and walked towards me. "So, you're the freshman the coach mentioned to me earlier."

"Glad to meet you," she stated as she extended her hand towards me. "I'm Tora Yume, from third year, the captain of Seigaku Girls' Tennis Team."

I smiled back warmly. "It's great to meet you too."

She cleared her throat. "Since you're one of the few new candidates, let me just introduce you to the last year's regulars and regular candidates."

Taking a deep breath, the captain shouted, "All regular candidates gather!"

There was a short pause among the people who were training. Out of about 40 members, only six of them came to approach the captain. All of them looked unfamiliar to her, and older for that matter.

Yume patted my back and introduced me, "This is Tezuka Menou-chan, a first grader. She'll be joining us for this season ranking match." I bowed as she finished.

A girl with a messy and short black hair stared at me with her sharp brown eyes. "I'm Toushiki Mizuki from the second year. I played double last year."

Another girl who looked exactly like the previous girl, but with longer hair and more cheerful air, was the next one to talk. "I'm her twin, Toushiki Kazuki, second year. We play double!"

"I'm Hikari Saya, a third grader," a tall girl with wavy dark-blue hair said confidently as she shook my hand. "I failed last time, but I will succeed this time round."

As Hikari-senpai stepped back, a girl with dark-brown hair tied in a ponytail came to me. Her voice was distant, as if she was dreaming. "Amame Yura, third year, failed last time."

The last two were glaring at me. One with black wavy hair tied in pigtails was definitely not pleased with me suddenly joining the ranking match.

"That one is Hanabi Aoi. She's a bit short-tempered, but once you get to know her, she can be nice," Yume said from my side, seeing the girl was unwilling to talk.

"Last one there," Yume stated as she pointed to a girl with a shoulder-length layered brown hair, "is Himawari Midori. The two of them are from second year."

Yume looked around and sighed. "There are supposedly three more girls, but they are not around." She shrugged nonchalantly. "Oh well, you can always meet them later."

"Buchou," the girl called Hanabi Aoi spoke up suddenly, "Are you sure _that _first grader is good enough to be in the match?"

I could sense her annoyance as she looked at me, arms crossed over her chest. I moved slightly backwards, a bit scared.

Yume waved her off casually. "Come on, Aoi-chan! She's no amateur!"

The other seniors seemed to agree as they nodded. The twin senpais grinned at each other and told Hanabi-senpai to relax, throwing their arms across her shoulders simultaneously. Of course, she scowled and turned away towards the training court, refusing to accept me as a part of the candidates for the regulars. Behind her, the twin followed happily. Soon enough, all the people I just met also joined them in the court. Only Yume-Buchou excused herself to find Coach Ryuzaki.

I was a bit scared to Hanabi-senpai, but annoyed as well. Even if I was not as good as she was, I had played tennis long enough to earn some skills. I wished I could show her my real abilities...

And then, it was almost as if she had heard my thought.

Hanabi-senpai returned with two racquets and threw one at me. I caught it reflexively. She scoffed while I blinked at her in confusion.

"I challenge you to a game," she stated as she glared at me. "If you lose, get out of the ranking match."

I gaped at her, too shocked to say something. One of the regulars had just challenged me to a game. No matter how good I could possibly be, playing against a regular was just a death wish. Although that thought crossed my mind, another part of me was shouting to me to accept the challenge. Backing up was only for coward, and I was no coward.

"O-kay?" I responded nervously, to which she smirked.

The two of us walked towards a half-filled court, with her leading the way. I was trying to adjust my grip on the racquet she gave me. It was not my usual racquet, so it felt different. While I was worrying about my grip, she started to shoo away all the people who were practicing just so we could have a full court for our match. Some of the seniors looked irritated, but they were too scared of Hanabi-senpai to talk back. The juniors were just completely freaked out as they ran out of the court.

I started to regret my choice...

Apparently, our match had attracted more people and even the boys were coming towards our court. Among them, I saw my brother and Fuji. My brother looked – or glared – at me although his face remained passive. I grinned apologetically while Fuji smiled beside him, waving his hand at me.

"Hey, first year!" Hanabi-senpai voice brought my attention towards her. "Let's begin!"

Without warning, she threw the ball high in the air and served. I was unprepared and she scored a Service Ace. She smirked and took out another ball, not giving me a chance to prepare myself. Immediately, I gripped the racquet properly, taking a stance. By the time I finished, the ball had already come towards me. I managed to hit it, but it became a lob. Hanabi-senpai ran towards the net and smashed it, getting another score. Nonetheless, I was determined not to let her get the next point that easily.

After playing for some time, I had to say that the match was quite one-sided. She was definitely better than I was, faster and stronger. Her ball was heavy and she moved really fast. I could not even get a point. The best thing I could do was to stop her from getting a point, without me scoring.

Until I realized that she mostly played near the baseline.

I bet on my own thinking that she hated to play near the net. My brother had once taught me how to do a drop shot to catch an opponent off-guard. I might as well try it here, in the game. When the next ball came, I hit it with just enough force and angle to make it go over but near the net. Hanabi-senpai eyes widened for a second as she dashed towards the ball. However, the ball had touched the ground by the time she arrived near the net.

That was my first point...and the last.

"What's happening here?" Yume-buchou's voice boomed.

We both flinched at her voice, stopping the match. I was really scared at my captain at that moment, even the tough Hanabi-senpai looked positively worried. As our captain walked towards us, I could see the menacing aura around her. This could not be good...

"Two of you, ten laps around the court! Now!" she shouted, to which we immediately complied.

The audience slowly disappeared as they went back to trainings and such. I ran in silence, slightly behind my senpai. I wondered whether she was still angry and irritated at me. Nonetheless, the hostility atmosphere she had around her had reduced slightly. That was what I thought, at least.

"It was fun," she said abruptly, without looking at me. "Let's play again sometimes."

I was shocked. She actually asked me to play again with her. In the midst of my surprise, I saw her glancing backwards with a slight smile on her lips. I could not help but to return her smile. Afterwards, we just ran in silence, fearful of the glares Yume-buchou giving us every once a while. Despite that, I realized that I had made a new friend.

Once we finished the ten laps, we were both exhausted.

Well, I was, at least.

My senior looked perfectly fine, although she was slightly out of breaths.

When we reached the court, I saw my captain talking to my brother. They both have a serious look. My brother was saying something, to which Yume-buchou nodded, a thoughtful expression on her face. Next to me, I heard Hanabi-senpai cursed. She walked away immediately she saw my brother, leaving me alone. I guessed she did not like my brother that much.

"Menou, come here!" Yume-buchou waved me over.

I jogged towards them and smiled at the sight of my brother. "Hi, Onii-san!"

He nodded and then said, "Menou, the coach and Yume have seen that you have a potential to grow."

I remained silent.

"But, you are yet to use your potentials. As such, we all agree to have someone to train you personally," he continued.

"Eh?" I responded in confusion.

Yume grinned. "Simply put, there is someone whom we assign to train you. He is of your age and about your height, so you should be able to ask for some advice."

I frowned. "He?"

My captain had this mischievous smile that made me feel nervous. "Yup, he, Echizen Ryoma."

* * *

A/N: Okay, I made 8 OCs now and it may be confusing. However not all of the OC will play many part. I just use it because it will feel strange if the girls' regular only consists of three or four people, so some only used for their names.

The main OC is still Tezuka Menou, the other that will play some part are:

Tora Yume – she is the captain after all

Hanabi Aoi – I am planning to make her Menou's best friend.


	4. The Training

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the character in Prince of Tennis, but I do own my OC(s) and this fanfic's plot.

The Dreamer

Serve4: The Training

Menou's POV

I sighed. Today was Saturday, so I needed not to go to school, but I had another appointment. I stared at the big traditional house in front of my eyes. I grumbled in front of the door with a family name plate, it was written Echizen. I made sure of my appearance. I meant...I was developing a...okay, I will admit it...a crush on him! Being tidy and nice never hurt, right? I checked my whole clothes. Everything was done.

I recalled my memory; it was my brother's fault...

_"What?" I almost screamed when he said Ryoma's name._

_"You heard me, Echizen Ryoma," my brother repeated his words, "You are the same age, I suppose you can get along better as your way of thinking is supposed to be the same. I think it's for the best."_

_"We all know how much you want to be a part of the regulars, Menou-chan. I know you want it really badly, more than any other new candidates," Yume added. "So you have to train."_

_"He wants to?" I asked, quite surprised that the emotionless first year wanted to teach me tennis._

_"He has said yes," Kunimitsu-nii replied sternly, "And you can't change your trainer."_

_"B-But!" I retorted._

_"Menou-chan, better not ruin this chance..." Fuji's voice came from behind me. _

_I spun around to meet his usual smiling face. I sent him a dagger from my eyes, but it did not seem to affect him. He only walked closer to me and bent down to whisper in my ears._

_"This may be your chance to be alone with Echizen," his tone teasing me._

_I felt hot on my face and I knew blush was creeping to my cheeks, making Fuji chuckled._

_"Don't tell me that you were the one who suggested to my brother for assigning Echizen as my trainer..." I spoke low so Kunimitsu-nii could not hear it._

_Fuji went silent for a moment. He stood back firmly with a grin and I saw him nodded a bit, answering my query._

_I knew it! I knew it!_

_"Fuji!" I screamed at him madly, "I will kill you!"_

I blushed at memory of his words. This was also Fuji's fault! I inhaled deeply and pressed the bell. I heard footsteps from inside coming towards me. The door opened and I saw a young woman with long bluish hair and gentle smile. She was tall and slim.

"Hello, can I help you?" she asked.

"Good morning. I am Tezuka Menou, Echizen Ryoma's classmate. Is he at home right now...?" I replied timidly, playing with my hair.

"He's still upstairs, please, just come in," she gestured me to come in. I nodded and stepped inside. The house was wonderful, I liked the style. It was traditional house, but filled with modern application.

"I am Nanako by the way, Ryoma's cousin," she said.

"Nice to meet you, Nanako-san," I replied to her with a smile.

"Well, well...Who are we having here?" a male voice spoke up.

I turned to see a man with loose black kimono, barefooted, and reading the newspaper. I bowed a bit to him; after all, he had to be the owner of the house...I guess.

"Nice to meet you, Echizen-san," I said.

"No need to be so formal, girl," he said, scratching his chest, "Just Nanjiro is enough."

"Okay," I nodded. He grinned and folded his papers.

"Oi...! Ryoma!" he shouted to his son upstairs, "Wake up! Your girl is here!"

I blushed at his comment. I was not Ryoma's girlfriend, but I would wish too...I slapped myself mentally; I had said I did not like him.

_You like him, admit it..._

I shook my head. Okay, I liked him, but I would never, ever show it!

"Is he sleeping?" I asked to Nanako.

She shrugged, "Ryoma is really dead to the world."

We went silent and Nanako sighed a bit. She shook her head and looked at her uncle. Nanjiro's eyes suddenly brightened and he folded his paper, "Why don't you come upstairs to wake him up?"

"Eh?" I exclaimed in shock automatically.

In a matter of second, I was dragged upstairs by Nanjiro. I glanced at Nanako helplessly. She just waved weakly and sweat dropped. My mouth hung opened, but no word came out. Before I realized about it, I was shoved into a room. Nanjiro grinned one last time and closed the door. I heard 'click' sound and I knew I was locked. I stood in awe, confused of what to do. I glanced at Ryoma; he was in his bed sleeping peacefully. He was truly in a deep slumber. I blushed.

"How did I end up stick here...?" I whispered softly.

"What is it, Mom?" Ryoma's voice came, he whipped around, "It's holiday!"

"Sorry, but I am not your mother, Ryoma-kun," I replied absentmindedly. Hell! Why did I reply? Now he would know I was in his room!

He seemed to be wakened up by unfamiliar voice of mine. Slowly, he rose and sat up on his bed. I stepped back until I hit the wall. He rubbed his sleepy eyes and stared at me. His hair was messier than usual.

"Hum...?" he mumbled, "You're Captain's sister and the girl whose face went red on the library..."

I blushed again and nodded in embarrassment.

"What are you doing here?" he asked suspiciously, he was not sleepy anymore.

"Ah, uh..." I thought my brother had talked to him, had not he?

"My brother told me that you would teach me tennis," I said a bit confused.

He went silent for a moment, gathering his memories.

"Ah!" he snapped out and slapped his fist to his palm, remembered about my brother's request.

I was glad he remembered and let out a happy sigh. Then we went silent again. I hate the silence between us. He did not speak anymore word and he just scratched his head. His hair was tangled. It was in unmanageable knot and I could not imagine how he could tidy it up. However, in my eyes, he looked so hot!

I shook my head violently, "_Stop staring at him!" _I shouted to myself in my head.

"Uh, Ryoma-kun?" I asked idly.

He looked at me.

"Um, can I get out now? Nanjiro-san locked me here," I said pointing to the door.

He raised his eyebrow and sighed with annoyance.

"Stupid old man..." he mumbled under his breath.

He rose from his bed and stretched. He yawned and then walked to his desk to grab something. He glanced at me with sleepy eyes and continued walking to the door. I heard a 'click' sound and the door was now open! Ryoma stepped back as I reached the door knob. I opened the door and glanced at him. I smiled a bit and muttered a 'thanks' before rushing downstairs.

"Well? Is he awake now?" Nanjiro asked.

"Um, yeah," I answered. My answer made him grinning widely.

"Hey, Nanako! Remind me! Ryoma will wake up when his girl is here!" Nanjiro called to Nanako who was in the kitchen.

"Sure, sure," she replied casually. Her tone showed she did not really care about what her uncle thought and maybe she did not really know what he was talking about.

I blushed red. Nanjiro did not miss my blush and he grinned at that.

"Oooo! My boy got a shy girl!" he laughed.

"She isn't my girlfriend," Ryoma said. He walked downstairs, putting on his cap.

We both looked at Ryoma. He glared at his father sternly, which Nanjiro replied with wicked grin. They both stared at each other, although I would reconsider Ryoma's as a glare rather than just a stare. I kept my eyes on Ryoma though. Before I could distort my stare, he looked at me and our eyes met for second. I quickly looked away in embarrassment. It was not everyday you got caught staring at someone dreamily.

"Oi, old man, can I use the court?" he asked.

"_Court? What court?_" I asked myself.

"Yeah, you can. What is it for?" Nanjiro asked Ryoma.

"To train her," he indicated me with his thumb. Nanjiro narrowed his eyes.

"Your date is tennis training?" he asked with frown.

"We are NOT dating, you old man," Ryoma said again, emphasizing the word 'not'. I took a step back as I was scared a bit. I never thought Echizen Ryoma was sensitive on this kind of matter.

"Follow me," he said walking away coldly. I followed him close behind. We walked away from his house. We reached a ground court. It was not too far from his house actually. We just walked a bit. He put his bag on a bench and I followed suit. He got into the court and took out a ball. I narrowed my eyes. What was he planning?

"Okay, show me your ability..." he said smirking, "Captain's sister..."

"I have a name you, know," I sighed.

He did not listen to me and he threw the ball mid-air. In my eyes, the ball dropped slowly, but his movement was fast beyond compare! The ball came to me in a stunning speed and not only that...The ball twisted into my face! Instinctively, I screamed and covered my face with my racquet. I lost my balance at that sudden movement and fell to the ground on my bottom.

"What the hell was that?" I shouted at him, rubbing my aching bottom.

"Twist serve," he replied calmly, taking another ball, "It's 15-0."

I stood back. That was the first time I met an opponent with Twist Serve. I inhaled deeply. To my persistence, I refused to let him win with all Service Aces. I did not want to be a total loser!

He raised his hand again, another Twist Serve and yet I could not hit it. Dammit! Why was it so hard just to return a serve? I tried and tried, but none was a success. When he served for the seventh times, I chased the ball. I tried to move the best and the fastest I could, but this time I tripped. It was even worse than just missing the ball. I lost my balance and I could not steady myself back. I fell to the ground hard and there went another point for him.

My knees bleed a bit from the new scratch. I saw him waiting for me to return to my position, bouncing the tennis ball with his racquet. I growled and stood back, ignoring the scratch.

"_It's just a scratch, be strong, Menou,_" I said to myself.

Without wasting any moment, he served again. I failed again. I was really mad at myself. What was wrong with me? I imagined my brother playing with Ryoma. He would overcome Ryoma, I was positive about it. I inhaled and exhaled deeply and slowly. I always did this to calm myself down. I looked back to Ryoma and he was again bouncing the ball with his racquet.

He glanced at me, "This started to get boring."

An hour passed and I was already on the ground, lying flat and panting. My racquet was on the ground next to me. I looked up to the sky; the sun was right above me. It was already midday, but I showed no improvement. Well, slight improvement I thought, at least I could move the racquet _almost _but not hitting the ball. I sighed and closed my eyes for a minute or so.

"Okay, let's get another practice!" I said as I jumped back to my feet.

Ryoma narrowed his eyes a bit before shrugged. I threw him the ball which was on my side now. He caught it with his left hand.

"Come!" I smirked, "I will not stop until I hit it back."

"...It will take forever," he stated bluntly.

Just when I was about to move, a loud sound came from outside of the court. I missed the ball, but I swung too hard and tripped to the hard ground head first. I groaned, rubbing the back of my head. Meanwhile, the voice was still calling me.

I recognized that voice as my classmate. I forgot her name.

"Menou, why are you here?" she panted, "I go to your home and your mother said you are in the Echizen's residence."

"We are having class meeting for the festival!" she exclaimed.

I went silence for few seconds, before her words finally registered in my brain.

"_Holy crap!_" I cursed myself silently. I totally forgot that I had to meet my homeroom teacher. After all, I was in charge to take control of our stall this time.

"Uh, ah, uh, I'm going now!" I stammered. My friend only shook her head and ran back to school.

"You'd better hurry, Menou!" she shouted and pointed at me before completely out of sight.

I looked at Ryoma and clasped my palms clasped together in front of my face, "Sorry really sorry, but I need to go to meet my teacher now! Can we continue later?" I begged in rush.

Ryoma just stared at my and stayed silent. He could not comprehend my words that were said extremely fast.

"Huh?" he looked confused. Totally.

"Please?" I pleaded to him, not really care that he did not understand what I had said before.

Ryoma shrugged and I smiled a bit before running frantically. I just grabbed my bag and hastily dashed off, heading to school. I tripped on her way several times. Of course, I was totally in panic. I stepped on my loose shoelaces and fell flat on my face to the ground. I wasted no time though; I quickly stood up and rushed again.

I slammed my class' door opened. All of my classmates stared at me and clapped their hands sarcastically for my unpunctuality. My teacher rose from his seat and scolded me for being late; I just apologized repeatedly to him and the rest of the pupil. He finally calmed down and asked me to have my seat. I quickly did as he told me to do and our meeting at last began. We talked for hours and it was very hard to find an agreement amongst us.

"How about making a haunted house?" one of my classmates asked.

I opened the list, "Class 1-3 has decided to do it. Drop the idea."

"How about a clothes stall?" another suggested.

"Nope, class 1-2 has. Class 1-1 will prepare some games and class 1-5 will sell accessories," I replied again. I sighed and pushed my spectacles up my nose bridge. Damn, the other classes had submitted everything and they were really fast.

"How about making a café?" I suggested.

Everyone murmured and grinned. I saw that mischievous grin on the boys' face.

"I think okay, how about if we make it Cosplay café?" a boy asked with a big grin, "It will be fun that way."

The girl frowned, but the boys grinned, giving each other high-fived. As our homeroom teacher was a man and comparison between the boys and girls were not balanced (more boys to girls), the male won. I would be one of the waitresses also. The boys volunteered themselves to borrow the Cosplay costumes. I had warned them to rent a normal Cosplay, not a vulgar one! They had said okay, but I just could not believe them.

We ended up the meeting and went home. It was already dusk. I stretched my arms. I felt I forget something, but never mind about it. I was too tired and I just wanted to go home. So I walked home and took off my shoes. I greeted my mother and brother who were in the dining room.

"I'm home!" I greeted them as I took a seat.

"Welcome home," my mom replied as she gave me a bowl of rice.

"How's your day?" she asked.

"Quite...interesting, yeah, quite nice," I replied taking my chopsticks.

"How's your training? Kunimitsu told me you have training today," she continued.

I glanced at my brother who sat next to me. He just continued to eat without even looking at me.

"Just fine," I smiled. I recalled about the training, it was actually...fun and I smiled. My smile dropped as I remembered what I had forgotten.

"Crap! I forgot my tennis racquet!" I slapped my forehead and groaned.

My brother finally looked at me. He stared at me and then turned away, sighing a bit.

I cursed myself, hitting myself in the head. That racquet was my brother's, but he gave it to me and now I forgot to bring it back home! Well, I still could take it back the next day. Tomorrow would be Sunday and I did not have a plan to go somewhere. I would go tomorrow, I decided silently. I could not go this late to Ryoma's house. I thought I would just go tomorrow for taking it back.

"I'm finish," I thanked my mother and rushed upstairs. I took a bath and changed my clothes. I sat down and took my homework. I had not done any of it. I put on my spectacles and when I was doing it, my mom called from downstairs.

"Menou, there is a call for you!" she yelled.

"I'm coming!" I replied while walking downstairs with noise.

"Hi, Menou!" a chirpy voice came from the phone.

I thought before reply, "Yume-senpai?"

"The one and only, the Mighty Yume!" she replied proudly.

I chuckled and answered her back, "Hi, Senpai! What's up?"

"Oh, yeah, do you have a plan tomorrow?" she asked.

"Not really. Why?" I asked back.

"Great! Let's go playing tennis, we haven't finished our match!" she yelled excitedly.

I anime-sweat dropped, "_Tennis again? And I don't have my racquet with me!"_

"So? How does that sound?" she asked and I knew she was grinning although I could not see her.

"Er, it's okay, but I need to take my racquet first in..." I stopped, "Echizen's residence."

"What?!" she shouted, "Oh my God! Do you and that Echizen guy-"

"No!" I cut her short, my face was hot, "We had training and I forgot to take it back! That's all!!"

"Oh," she seemed calmer, "Anyway, after you take it, head for the school court, okay?"

"Okay, see you tomorrow!" I smiled.

"Bye-bye! See you!" she hung up the phone.

I headed to my room and collapsed to my bed. I had no more intention to do my homework. I used to plan to do it, but not anymore. I bathed in a quick time and changed to my pajamas. I took off my glasses and put in the headboard of my bed. I closed my eyes and sighed.

"_Today was a long day..."_

  
A/N:

Please review. I will really, really appreciate reviews. Please help me improving my English!


	5. Again

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the character in Prince of Tennis, but I do own my OC(s) and this fanfic's plot.

The Dreamer Serve5:

Again

Menou's POV

The next morning, I woke up before the alarm went on. I just turned it off when it rang. Yawning, I got off my bed lazily. I opened up my drawer, took some clothes and bathed quickly. After finished, I walked downstairs, straight to the dining room. I saw my mother, as usual, but I did not see my brother and my father.

"Morning," my mother said with a smile.

"Morning, Mom," I said as I took a seat. I grabbed the onigiri from the plate in front of me and started to eat, "Where are Dad and big brother?"

"Your brother is in his room, but I think he will show up soon. Your father is still sleeping, after all he returned late last night," she continued her cooking, "Are you going somewhere today?"

"Yes! I am going play tennis with Yume," I grinned as I finished my second onigiri.

"Who's Yume?" she asked with tone of curiosity. She gave me a bowl of miso which I happily took from her.

"My senpai in the tennis club, she is in second year. She is a little stubborn and very bubbly, but I get along quite well with her," I said as I brought the bowl and sipped the miso, "She's quite kind actually."

"Thank you for the breakfast." I said standing up and walked towards the front door. I stepped out of the dining room just to meet my brother with his usual emotionless expression.

"Going to play tennis with Yume," I reported to him. He was like my watcher and I needed to tell him where I was going or else, he might get worried. Inside, he was a truly caring brother. He stared at me for few seconds before strode to the dining room and took his seat. He coolly took his seat as mom greeted him.

I opened the front door after I put on my shoes, "I am leaving!"

"Have fun!" my mother half-shouted because she was in the kitchen and I was in the front door.

"Sure! See you later in the evening!" I dashed out of the house. I sighed happily at the sight of the bright sun. However, my smiled flattered at another thought, wondering why I was so careless and troubled myself; I had to get my racquet at Echizen's!

--

"_Oh, God...Where is it?_" I thought as I wandered around aimlessly in the tennis court. Going to the house was the last option. Thinking about Ryoma, he would have not noticed the left-behind racquet. I sighed and kept pacing around, "_Where is that racquet? If I could not find it, brother will never speak to me again!_"

I stopped walking, "_But he barely talks to me, it's mostly me who started our conversation and again, it will be me speaking while he just grunted or replied with one or two words._"

I sighed, "_I often hope he was more like Fuji, smiled more. Thinking about my brother becoming like that, is it like a dream...or nightmare? I wonder if..._" I slapped both of my cheeks with my palms.

I shook my head. "_Focus, Menou! Focus!_" and continued searching my racquet.

Out of the blue, I heard a very loud noise. I jolted in surprise and frantically looked around and finding what the source of that sound was. It was Nanjiro, ringing the bell with a long, hanging log; he moved that string that was attached to the log, with his foot! He yawned lazily and eyed me with mischievous grin. I blinked several times before frowning in utter confusion.

"Nanjiro-san? What are you doing here?" I asked bluntly.

"Ringing the bell," he indicated it with his foot, "Can't you see it?"

"Uh, aren't you supposed to ring the bell with your-" I scratched my cheek.

I inhaled and exhaled slowly, "Never mind. I need to mind my own business."

However, he called me just as I was about to turn around.

"Are you searching for this?" He lifted up my beloved racquet with his two fingers.

I squealed in delight and raised my hand, "Yes!" I instantly answered with chirpy tone.

He grinned and tossed me the racquet. I caught it safely in my arms and then looked up at him with a wide grin, "Thank you, Nanjiro-san!" I said bowing slightly.

He sneered, "Nanjiro-san? I told you to call me Nanjiro!"

I sweat dropped, "O-Okay, Nanjiro," I wondered this guy was really Ryoma's father. They were just too...different. Nanjiro was just very easy-going, not like the ignorant and serious Ryoma.

"Good," he grinned and yawned, "Where are you going anyway?"

"To meet my senpai at school," I replied simply, "to play tennis."

He seemed a bit surprised yet pleased, I wondered why. Soon, his expression changed to a somehow wicked smile. I was confused, purely, not knowing what he meant behind that grin. I was curious but decided not to push the topic, so I just shrugged, "Bye now, Nanjiro!"

I bowed slightly and rushed to the school, a huge grin plastered in my face.

"_It's time for a match!"_

--

"Menou! Why did you come so late?" Yume asked as she crossed her arms and huffed.

I was too stunned to answer. My mouth hung opened as I stared at the two people behind Yume. I pointed to them with shaky fingers due to shock and confusion at the same moment. Yume looked at me questioningly then turned around.

"What? Why are you looking at them like that?" she asked innocently.

"Why are Momo-senpai and Ryoma here?" I frantically asked with my finger pointing at the boys.

Yume scratched her cheek with one finger, "Well, I think I forgot to tell you that those two are coming," she gestured to Momo-senpai and Ryoma, "I asked them to play yesterday, more people, more fun."

My mouth hung open again. I understood what the meaning of Nanjiro's grin was. He knew that Ryoma was going to play tennis too! Also about Ryoma was going with Momo-senpai and that they headed to the school. Talking about the boys, I wondered why Yume asked them to go with us...

"Oi, Yume, are we going now?" Momo-senpai yawned, "I'm bored just staying here."

"Oh, shut your mouth, baka," Yume scoffed.

"What? Who did you call 'baka'?" he took a step towards Yume.

"You're noisy, you know that?" she sighed.

"She got a point," Ryoma calmly stated, shoving his hands into his pockets.

"Oi, Echizen!" Momoshiro looked at his friend, rather stunned, "Whose side are you on?"

Thinking about it, Yume and Momoshiro-senpai seemed pretty close. I wondered if they had some sort of connection. When Yume's hand landed on my shoulder, I snapped out of my trance.

Her other hand was clutching the side of her head, rummaging a small part of her hair. She seemed perfectly annoyed – her eyebrow was slightly twitching.

"I just can't get along with him," she murmured.

Curiously I asked her, "Yume, what is your relationship with Momo-senpai?"

"Takeshi? He is my cousin," she sighed, "Although I don't want to admit it," she added with low voice.

"What?" I screamed, "You two are cousin?"

Yume blinked and she looked at Momo, who shrugged, and then looked back to me, "Guess I never told you before, ne?"

I nodded vigorously and watched as they started to walk. I gaped in awe, but decided to follow those two senpais. Yume and Momo-senpai led the way, while Ryoma and I followed behind. I mentally screamed, not sure whether or not I was happy, I was going to spend my day with Echizen Ryoma again!

A/N:

Okay, I am going to make some twist later on the story. I also plan to skip some scenes from the real Prince of Tennis story or I have to make an enormously long fanfic!

As usual, please review! Thanks!


	6. Ranking Match

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the character in Prince of Tennis, but I do own my OC(s) and this fanfic's plot.

A/N:  
For all of you who reviewed, thank you so very much! Please keep reviewing.  
I may skip several parts because I don't think it's really important and at the same time, because I want to make more twists in the story.  
Oh, and I will be in hiatus from the end of September to the middle of October since End-Year is coming, and me, being scholar, will be so dead if my marks aren't good.  
Please check the picture of Menou in my deviantArt, the link is in my profile.  
See you all soon!

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The Dreamer Serve6:

Ranking Match

Menou's POV

One win and one lose, I still had the chance!

"Menou-chan, that was close!" Sakuno said softly from my side, trying to cheer me up. Yup, I had just lost my second match against Hikari Saya, my senior, but I won my first match against another senpai from second year.

"Yeah, I hope I will manage to win the next one," I said wiping the sweat away from my forehead. Though deep down inside my heart, I was not confident of my ability to become a regular. Ever since I learned who my next opponent is, I was kind of lost the will to fight on.

"Not to forget that your next opponent is the captain herself!" Tomo exclaimed, "I heard from the second years' conversation just now, Yume Buchou's strong, skillful, and has lots of stamina..." she trailed off the abilities of the captain, which seemed numerous.

"Gee, thanks for the remark," I said sarcastically, "Honestly, I can not win against Yume. She's way...too good." I ended with a sigh, "And I am way too...average, or even lower."

The silence fell amongst the three of us. We had been good friends since Sakuno was also in tennis club and Tomo was her best pal. But with Sakuno being the soft-spoken as always, she rarely talked much, for Tomo...I think she just confused of what else to say. The awkward silence fell among us, yet it did not last long.

"Menou!" someone slapped my back hard from behind.

I stumbled forward, took several unbalanced steps, and fell face first to the ground. Honestly and matter-of-factly, it hurted!

"Oops!" I heard the person laughing, "Sorry, my bad! Not my fault you're so light and weak!"

I stood up raising my fist, "Hanabi Aoi! Are you insane, baka senpai?"

"Tsk, tsk, tsk," she waved her pointing finger, "For someone who's lost her match, you have no right to say that to me, who won all of my three matches!" she raised her nose high to the sky and laughed as if she was insane. Her words were then registered into my mind.

"What? You have finished your three matches already?" I was shocked, "And you won all of them?"

Aoi gave me a thumb-up, "I am a regular!" Her grin was amazingly wide.

My mouth hung opened whilst Sakuno was congratulating Aoi, "Wow," was the only word I could mutter.

She patted my back several times happily, "Good luck to you, kiddo!"

I smiled wearily, "Thanks, Aoi-senpai."

She smiled back despite my somnolent smile. I was trying to take a step away from her when someone slapped my back from behind... again. Lucky, I did not fall twice in a day. I turned around swiftly, only to find that Yume was the one who slapped me.

"Hello, happy-go-lucky girl!" she patted my head with a big grin on her face. I only slightly nodded and rubbed my aching back as Yume looked at Aoi and they grinned at each other. Sakuno was too stunned to say anything and to my surprise, Tomo did too. We were all flabbergasted at the unexpected behavior of the seniors.

"You both...are unpredictable," I muttered in a barely audible voice, "And sometimes mad."

Aoi laughed heartily, probably did not hear my last words, "I have to go - haven't reported my result yet." She grinned and patted my head; it was not as hard as when she hit my back, in fact it was rather soft, "Good luck to both of you, Menou and Yume Buchou!" With that she ran away, leaving the four of us behind.

"So, how are you feeling, my next opponent?" Yume asked as she rounded her arms around my shoulders, "Ready to be beaten down? I don't want to ruin my reputation by being defeated by a first-year student, especially with me being a captain."

I gulped, causing her to notice my horrified look. She quickly patted my shoulder, "Chill, chill! I am not going to beat you badly!"

She was not going to beat me badly? I sweat-dropped, that did not change the fact she was going to beat me!

I nodded and she smiled, "I have to go, got to see coach, Menou! See you soon enough!"

I sighed heavily as soon as she was out of sight and leaned against the wall behind me.

"Menou-chan, are you okay?" Sakuno asked with genuine worry tone.

I smiled, "I was...too surprised, maybe too excited as well." I grinned and jumped back to my feet when I suddenly heard a loud cheer. Some people who passed me were talking about a freshman who won all of his tennis matches. I grinned as I knew who it was. Sakuno smiled and 

Tomo squealed at the same time in delight. Biding good-bye to me, they ran to the court where Ryoma's match took place. My smile only got wider.

"_It must be Ryoma,_" I thought, "_Now that you mention him, didn't he say something a few days ago?_"

**Flashback**

_When Yume and Momoshiro were having argument, in the middle of their match, Ryoma and I were practicing, all thanks to my poor skills. While I was hitting the ball back and forth to the wall, something cold hit the back of my knee in a swift motion. Ryoma was behind me, staring lazily at me with emotionless face as he put his racquet on his shoulder._

_"What?" I shouted at him, "What do you mean by that poke?" I rubbed the back of my knees, where he had poked me with his racquet._

_He poked at my knees again, "Since the begging your knees are too stiff."_

_Pointing to my grip, he said, "Your grip was too high here..."_

_I blinked. Did he just give me some suggestions? I was not wrong, was I? He never gave me advice before! Or should I say criticism?_

_He lowered my grip, touching my hand in the process. My heart skipped a beat and I felt blood rushing to my face - secretly thanking God for the contact between Ryoma and me._

_"Oh," I responded lamely, blushing a bit at his action._

_I saw him smirk for a split second, before turning to his emotionless face again_

_Was the smirk just my imagination?_

_He went to sit down while I struggled to get the posture right. I always went stiff whenever I was nervous. What was wrong with me and what caused me to be so nervous? Maybe it was the fact that Echizen Ryoma was __staring__ glaring at me from behind!_

**End of Flashback**

I chuckled a bit at the remembrance. "Okay, let's recall what Ryoma said!" I said to myself with soft sound. Taking a deep breath, I relaxed my knees and lowered my grip a bit. Edgy might be the word to describe myself in the last match. Swinging the racquet to face the sky, I smiled brightly. Only by remembering him, could I feel such happiness.

I stopped abruptly with wide eyes, "_Why did I think about Ryoma again? I should stop thinking about him!_" I silently commanded myself.

"Menou!" I heard Aoi call me from afar, waving her right hand in the air, "It's time for your match!"

"Be right there!" I answered.

Closing my eyes and putting my racquet in front of me, I could feel more relaxed. Then I opened my eyes again and smiled, throwing my fists into the air, "Okay, let's do our best!" With that I ran to the court where the match will be held. Yume had waited for me with a grin of confidence plastered on her face.

"Menou," Tomo cheered at me with a loud sound, "Good luck!" I looked at her and Sakuno, who was standing right beside her. Sakuno was timidly smiling and mouthed a 'good luck' as well. I smiled to them, trying my best to give them a bright smile.

Yume smiled at me when we met in the middle of the court, "You have made good friends, haven't you?"

"Yeah, I have," I bowed my head, "Let's have a good match, Yume-senpai."

She smiled again, "Sure, Menou, let the game begin!"

"Yes!" I answered heartily. At that moment, I did not care whether I would win or not. The only thing that mattered was that I was playing with Yume and I would be enjoying it. She twirled the racquet and it landed on the rough surface – she chose rough therefore I had no choice but to choose smooth – she chose to serve first.

She started the match with her fast serve. It was really swift; surely she was the captain with logical reasons. Just like Tomo told me before, Yume had a lot of skills; fast, dexterous, and analytical. I ran and actually managed to hit it back.

She was smiling broadly when I returned the ball. It was her happy smile; she would enjoy this game just like me for sure. She used her smash, and I was too slow to reach the ball, and when the ball hit the end of the court without me hitting it, so there went one point for her. Yume was indeed wonderful; I truthfully admired her for that.

"Menou-chan, fight! Good luck!" someone shouted from outside the court. I turned my head only to see Eiji with big grin while waving his arms wildly in the air, I assume he had won his ranking matches and successfully stayed as a regular. Oishi was beside him, smiling gently and waving his hand softly. I nodded, acknowledging them both.

Then I turned to Yume, who was ready to start again. Gulping, there was only one thought come to my mind...

This was not going to be easy.


	7. Preparation for Festival

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the character in Prince of Tennis, but I do own my OC(s) and this fanfic's plot.

A/N: Sorry for the super delay! I skipped the match's part. I can't really explain how it went and it will be a bit boring if I kept telling the match. So I jumped right into the festival time...Well, not yet, near to the festival time. I added a bit about the match's result though. Thank you for my BetaReader! Lots of hugs!  
Enjoy the story.

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The Dreamer Serve7:

Preparation for Festival

~Menou's POV~

"Menou!" my friend bonked my head, "Stop spacing out!"

"It hurts!" I whined, rubbing the sore spot.

"Well, it's your fault for spacing out like that! We're busy, busy!" Yoko exclaimed with her hands on her hip. She suddenly spun around upon hearing snoring sound, "Kou! Stop slacking! Don't go to sleep!"

With that she smacked her twin brother.

"_I don't mind her being our class leader, but does she have to hit every people?_" I sweat-dropped as I saw Yoko move from one to another, hitting students in my class, most of them were the slacking or sleeping guys.

"Everyone, the festival is tomorrow! Hurry up and work!" she said excitedly, and we all chorused, responding to her, in a rather spiritful tone with an 'Oooo!'

"Hey, the costumes are here!" a group of boys holding big boxes shouted from the doors.

They carried two boxes each and stepped into the class, literally dropping the boxes to the floor. All of my classmates, including me, gathered around to take a look at the costumes. Some of the girls shrieked as they saw the clothes all of us were going to wear: a frilly maid dress with an apron and mini skirt in various colours.

I was not included on the shrieking girls; my mouth simply went agape...

"Goodness' sake..." Yoko muttered, burying her face into her palms. She did not shriek, but from her expression...I backed off immediately, knowing what would happen next.

"Come here you idiot Takashi!" She screamed at the top of her lungs, chasing the frightened Takashi out of the class and down the hall.

I sweat-dropped and pulled out one of the maid outfits. Sneering a bit at the frilliness, I turned to the other guy who was still wide-eyed in shock, "Is there any-"

He cut me off, "Nope, no other choice of clothes. Or you would rather opt for the maid dress with cat tails and ears?"

"No, thanks," I sighed, "One of you better go after Yoko and Takashi, if you don't want her murdering him."

One of them nodded and went after the two fighting people. I took charge since Yoko was not there for the time being, "Let's get back to work! Our festival is tomorrow!"

Thankfully, everyone obeyed. I sat down at my spot, cutting out the pamphlets.

"Menou-chan..." someone whispered.

"What?" I responded, not bothering to look at the person.

"Err...," she hesitated, "Are you going to the tennis training camp?"

I froze and turned to face Ame, one of my classmates who happen to be a member of the girl's tennis club. Ever since I lost the ranking match, I always tried to avoid the topic concerning the club. In truth, the result had demoralised me. Maybe I was not destined to be a tennis player at all.

"You can't run forever, Menou-chan," Ame reminded me softly, "You're good enough to be able to join, although you lost. You're not the same with Yume-Buchou, who's been a regular since her first year. You're different from her. She has her way and you have yours."

"Yeah, I know," I sighed, "Maybe I will join the camp."

She grinned, "Great!" and turned to her work.

"Oh, and Ame-chan..." I said, "Thanks for cheering me up!"

"You're welcome," both of us laughed heartily before suddenly someone smacked our heads.

I yelped, "Yoko!"

"Yeah, I'm back! Now work!" she exclaimed as I nodded, "I will take charge of decorating the door!"

"Tezuka, your brother is here," Kou said from behind me, near my ear, with a murmur.

I jumped in surprise, someday he would give me a heart attack, "T-thank you!" I took my bag and bid everyone a goodbye before leaving. My job had been done and most of my classmates had gone home, except Yoko and Kou. I did not forget to take my dress for the next day, it was the purple one.

My brother was leaning on the wall next to my classroom's door, arms crossed on his chest. I nodded to him and he started to walk away with me following close behind.

"Kunimitsu-nii," I tried to talk to him. We rarely talked despite the fact that we were siblings. He grunted in response and I took it as a cue to continue talking, "What's your class going to do for the festival?"

He did not respond and I went silent as well, "Just forget that I asked..."

We were not far from the school's building when I realized the way my brother was going. It was not out of school, it was towards the...boy's tennis club? He walked towards the big class near the changing room.

He opened the door and was greeted with a cheerful voice, "Tezuka-Buchou!"

I recognised it as Eiji's voice.

"Have you got help?" the acrobatic player continued.

What? What help?

"Yes," my brother replied simply, nodding his head towards me. I pointed to myself in confusion. I looked at the regulars who were all there in the club. Eiji practically grinned when he spotted me and I got even more confused when I saw the messy decorations around the room. Were they having party?

"Okay, care to explain?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Menou-chan, our coach has an idea of making the boy regulars make a special booth for the festival," Oishi explained calmly, "Since our groups are not skillful enough in making the decoration and we lack human power at the moment, we need help," he smiled.

"Where're the non-regulars?" I asked.

"They've gone home, nya!" Eiji answered bubbly.

I sighed, but when I saw my brother was staring – hard – at me, I knew I have no choice, "What should I do?" I rubbed the back of my neck.

"We're actually planning to make a game booth..." Oishi smiled.

"What?" I questioned instantly, in shock, "I thought you all are going to make a haunted house!"

The club was decorated with black veils, messy red paint everywhere, and dim lighting; who would think they were going to make a game booth?

"Haunted house, it isn't a bad idea," Fuji smiled mischievously.

"The 1-3 class has made one," I reminded.

"It's not a problem, actually. I know the pupils will be more interested in our booth," he chuckled, "So how about changing the plan, Tezuka?"

I stared at my brother and nearly chocked when he nodded. I shook my head and proceeded to help someone, anyone. I closed my eyes in exasperation, trying to finish this as quickly as I can. Unfortunately, I bumped into someone whom I least expected to see. I looked up to meet a pair of scary eyes and a hissing sound. I was doomed, it was Kaido Kaoru!

There was no clear explanation about the reason why he disliked me so much. It was just every time he saw me he would hiss with annoyance clearly showing in his eyes. He was the only regular who never spoke with me. Inui and Kawamura – or Taka-senpai – never talked to me too, but they only ignored me. There was no need to hiss like that! Or was this related to my deep fear and hatred towards snakes?

I hastily took several steps back, and unluckily my feet hit someone's – yes, someone's, not something – back and I fell backwards. I groaned and when I opened my eyes, I was faced with someone's bored stare. Take a wild guess who...

"Get off me..."

I jumped at Ryoma's voice. Blushing heavily, I mumbled a 'sorry' and walked very carefully this time, towards my brother. I was not stupid enough to go to Eiji or Fuji only to get their teasing about me and my little 'accident' just now. My brother shot me a look, but he continued with his work on putting the black veil.

I only helped a bit on putting the tape here and there. I was not a big help after all. As the sun set, we finally finished the decoration. I smiled a bit when I realised we are going back soon. My smile faltered when I saw I am in the middle of the now-very-dark room with almost no light at all. Snake, ghosts, and darkness were my big weaknesses. Moreover, there was no sound at all. Oh, joy...

"Kunimitsu-nii, Fuji, Eiji, anyone, are you there?" I asked desperately. It was not funny, if someone dared to make fun of me...

I turned around several times, fear starting to conquer me. And at the very moment, I saw something white and glowing came towards me. I practically screamed and ran until I bumped into someone. Due to the darkness, I could not see who it was and I kept panicking. That person, however, put their hands on my shoulders. I pounded on that someone and gasped several times in terror.

"Menou," a calm voice that I knew all too well – Kunimitsu-nii's voice.

I threw myself into him, trembling and sobbing, "T-There was something there!"

I could feel he tensed up a bit, "There was no one there. Everyone is outside, only you were inside."

I gasped and clung onto him tighter, letting him guide me outside. I could hear some gasps when they saw me clinging to my big brother's side with his arm around my shoulders.

"Menou-chan, are you okay?" Eiji's asked with an obvious worry in his tone.

"Did she see something inside?" Oishi's added with worried and somehow, a bit curious, voice.

"Well, it's near time for festival. It's not strange if there is something wandering around the school," Fuji's statement made me flinch, "Or not, maybe you're hallucinating, Menou-chan." he added as soon as he noticed I was near to bursting into tears.

~The Regulars' POV~

Fuji frowned, "_I never thought Menou-chan is afraid of ghost. She looks so weak when she is crying like that,_" then he smiled a small smile, "_It's still nice to see that Tezuka has a soft spot for his sister despite his cold attitude._"

Tezuka patted his sister's shoulder softly and half-hesitantly, "_It's been a long time since she cries and it's a bit awkward to comfort her like when we're kids._" He noticed a small smile that Fuji made, "_What's on your mind, Fuji?_"

Kaido hissed and thought, "_Weakling..._"

Inui and Kawamura did not think or make an action, but they did feel a little sorry for the scared girl.

Eiji patted Menou's head softly, "It's okay, Menou-chan. It's okay." He smiled when he saw he nodded softly and ceased her sobs.

Momo looked thoughtful, "_Whoa...Never expect the captain's sister to be a person who's scared of ghosts. She definitely is different from her brother._"

Ryoma looked emotionless, but inside he felt something he never felt before. He never saw someone cry like that, looked so helpless and delicate. She was, after all, a girl. Inwardly, he reminded himself, Tezuka Menou was nothing like her brother, Tezuka Kunimitsu. She was simply an average girl, who dreamed to be like her brother, a skillful tennis player.

Too bad she was only a dreamer, wasn't she?

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A/N: As usual, please review! Your reviews will be much appreciated. =^^= Oh, and check my profile for announcement or update. Thanks!


	8. School Festival Part 1

A/N: Chapter 8 is up! Finally...I am having quite a lot of time nowadays, but don't expect me to be having free time next year. My school always comes as the first priority. *sigh* I will try to update again next week or two weeks later. A lot of love for my BetaReader! I am planning to make a Gundam00 Fanfics too since I'm obsessed with it now. ^^  
Anyway, onto the story!

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in Prince of Tennis, but I do own my OC(s) and this fanfic's plot.

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The Dreamer Serve8:

School Festival Part 1

~Menou's POV~

"Hey, Menou, bring this to table number 2!" Yoko shouted.

"Okay!" I replied and at the same time took the tray and walked towards the customers' table.

Bowing slightly, I put the drinks and food on the table, "Here are your orders." I smiled sweetly.

The couple smiled and I left them to enjoy their food and, maybe, their moment together. We were having the school festival at the moment, and as planned, my class was doing Cosplay Café. Everyone was wearing a maid's costume, excluding the boys. They were in charge of the kitchen and giving out pamphlets.

I was wearing the purple maid dress with a matching butterfly hairpin and my hair put into a ponytail. I wandered around from one place to another, taking orders and delivering them. Although it was very tiring, it was a lot of fun at the same time. Nonetheless, I doubted my classmates felt the same, judging by their forced and fake smiles. I bet they would have loved to enjoy the festival rather than being stuck in the class serving food.

"Thank you for coming!" I said chirpily to the customers that had just left. I sighed in satisfaction as I saw the many people who came to our booth.

"Menou, will you move your lazy ass!" Yoko yelled at me.

I rolled my eyes at her call, but moved nonetheless. Yoko was busy putting the food onto a tray and she motioned me to the front door, signing that someone was coming. I walked quickly to the door and greeted the people who had just come in, "Welcome!"

My eyes went wide when I saw Ryoma, with Horio dragging him in and Sakuno, Tomo, Kachiro, and Katsuo following them.

"Come...on...Echizen." Horio was having rough time dragging Ryoma. "I just want to eat! I'm starving here!"

"Hn, it's you and not me," replied Ryoma with his eyes closed and hands in his pockets, although his collar was being pulled by Horio from behind.

"Menou!" Tomo waved at me excitedly and I waved back, smiling lightly.

Sakuno followed suit, waving her hand timidly. Kachiro and Katsuo smiled at me and nodded slightly. Horio insisted on pulling Ryoma in, although the pulled guy did not even budge.

"Welcome!" I greeted them cheerfully, "How many people?"

Tomo grinned and raised her thumb, "Six people!"

I giggled and said, "Please follow me."

In the end, Ryoma sat down, although he seemed grumpy. The rest of them sat down, with Ryoma between Tomo and Sakuno. Tomo, being as bold as ever, sat next to Ryoma without asking the guy while Sakuno just gave a small shy smile when Tomo told her to sit next to him on the other side. The three guys, or just Horio, stared hard at Ryoma and the two girls, though Ryoma himself looked ignorant.

Gosh, I wished I were either one of them...

I pushed aside my jealousy and asked them nicely. "What do you want to order?"

"So, Menou, are you going to stick here for the whole day?" Tomo asked as she drank her orange juice.

I scoffed and mumbled, "As if I want to stay here the whole day."

It was true. I did like serving the people here and helping my friend in our booth, but I did not love staying here all day long without even having fun during the festival. I had to enjoy this festival at any cost! It was my first school festival in junior high school!

She grinned and put her arm on the table. "Why don't we go together? It will be fun!"

I thought for a while and finally spoke, "Well, I would love to, but..." I trailed off as I turned to Yoko, who was busy serving the drinks.

"Menou, when will our shift over?" Yoko shrieked in fury. "Where are the people for second shift?"

I glanced at the clock. "They should have been here over half an hour ago!"

"Then where are those people for shift two?" She fumed.

"We're here! Sorry we're late!" A group of girls appeared in the door and hurried to the kitchen.

Yoko huffed and waved to me, shouting loudly, "Oi, Menou! We can go now! They've come!"

I smiled. "Scratch what I said just now, Tomo. I will go with you all."

Tomo grinned back at me. "Great!"

Her smile fell suddenly. "However, I suggest you to change your maid clothes." She pointed to my maid dress with a look of disapproval in her eyes.

I followed willingly. After all, I did not intend to wear maid clothes for the whole day. It was too...'attractive' in some ways. I went to the changing place, in the back of our class, and changed to my usual school uniform. I took off the hairpin, but I let my hair stay as it was in a ponytail.

"I'm ready!" I exclaimed as I got out of the room.

They all had paid the cashier and were waiting for me. I waved to my classmates and went along with them. Ryoma, as usual, looked bored, although Horio talked – or bluffed – to him. The girls walked behind the guys; Tomo was talking excitedly while Sakuno and I only listened and replied to her questions.

"By the way, where are we going?" I questioned finally, stopping Tomo's speech.

"Hmm..." Tomo put her finger under her chin. "I know! Let's go to The Mirror Maze!"

She suddenly led the way and the boys, half-eagerly, followed her. I looked at Sakuno, who looked confused. She turned to me with questioning eyes. I shrugged and we walked faster to catch up with Tomo. We joined them in front of a big board with the huge letters that said 'Mirror Maze'. The teachers set the maze in the hall, no wonder it was so gigantic.

"Whoa, I never knew they would make a mirror maze," I said, still amused by the teacher's work.

"Do you care to try, students?" one of the teachers asked with a small smirk. "It's quite hard to reach the end, you know. We really made the maze real difficult."

"Sure! We'll make it to the exit!" Horio said confidently. "Let's go Echizen!" He dragged the uninterested Ryoma...again.

So all of us ended up entering the maze; Ryoma with Horio, Katsuo and Kachiro, Tomo and Sakuno, and well...I alone. I had to admit the maze was great. They set the mirrors so carefully that there was almost no possible gap to peek. The arrangement was so neat and complicated; I could not imagine how much time they took to build this maze. Moreover, the exit was hard to find.

Someone would surely get lost...

Unfortunately, my prediction came true in my own case. I got lost and had been stuck inside the maze for twenty minutes. I had met four dead ends, but still no way out! Oh, and I ran into the mirror several times too. Damn me with my clumsiness...

"Shoot," I grumbled, "Where is the end?"

I tried following another path that I had not tried, but I bet it would lead to another dead end, and I was right. Desperately, I turned back and closed my eyes, trying to depend on my instinct. Sighing, I wished I had gone with one of them. With my eyes closed, it was obvious that I did not pay attention to where I was going. I hit another mirror, right on my face. I stumbled back several steps and rubbed my face. The pain made me grimace.

"Dang it," I cursed.

I kept stumbling until I hit another mirror on my back. How long did I stumble? I steadied myself and took a deep breath. Somehow, anyhow, I had to get out of this crazy confusing maze! I walked at a faster pace than I usually did, again not quite paying attention to where. I was practically fuming at not being able to get out and it frustrated me! My pace increased until finally I began to run. To my surprise, I did not meet a dead end...well, not yet. My eyes widened when I saw someone in my way and I could not stop my sprint.

"Look out!" I screamed.

Too late, I hit the person and expected to fall to the floor. Automatically, my hand flew to the closest thing that I could hold on to, which happened to be the person's body. My right hand was on that person's shoulder while my left was on the arm. I exhaled in relief, but inhaled sharply when I realised whom I was clinging to.

"Get off me," a bored voice said.

I immediately obeyed the order and let go of him. Ryoma was staring at me with his usual bored expression, tidying up his slightly ruffled clothes. My face turned slightly pink in embarrassment.

"W-What are you doing here?" I stuttered a bit.

He narrowed his eyes, but said nothing.

"A-aren't you supposed to be with Horio?" I questioned again and scolded myself mentally. "_Stop stuttering!_"

He shrugged. "We got separated."

"Oh, okay," I replied shortly.

Silence.

I often wondered why there was always a moment of silence whenever I talked to him.

I ignored the fact that I was alone with him and decided to find a way out first. "Let's go, Ryoma-kun!"

He seemed a bit perplexed at the moment, "What?" Yup, he was confused.

"Of course to find a way out!" I exclaimed, "Let's move on!"

At first it was me leading the way with Ryoma behind me, following silently. However, we got stuck again and again until Ryoma finally walked passing me and led the way. I followed him, but not from behind like he did, on his side. Thankfully, he did not seem to mind my presence and the glances I took at his face. Not that he realised it after all...

"Way out," he stated simply.

Wow, it did not take long for him. I pushed that thought aside as I was filled with happiness. I beamed with excitement and ran towards the wide opened door. Nonetheless, I waited for Ryoma to catch up and we exited together. We were greeted with the teachers' smiling faces, to which I smiled back.

"Here is the first team who manage to get out of the maze by themselves!" the teacher who greeted us earlier announced.

"_The first?_" I thought. It meant that none of them were out of that maze yet. Oh joy...

"Congrats!" He shook my hand and then Ryoma's. "Here is your prize!"

He shoved a big bunny doll to Ryoma, who stared at it with a disapproving look. I let out a small squeal, I loved the fluffy doll! The youngest regular seemed to notice my squeal and passed the doll to me. I blinked, but then grinned widely while hugging the huge rabbit doll.

~Ryoma's POV~

"_What the-_" I thought as the teacher pushed a fluffy doll into my hand.

I held it arm length and looked at it with disgust, but then I heard a small squeak from the person next to me. That Menou girl's eyes were filled with enthusiasm. I followed her gaze and landed on the doll in my hand. Without thinking twice, I shoved the doll into her hands. She blinked, but then took it gratefully and hugged it tightly. God, she was grinning like idiot...

_But she doesn't look bad smiling like that..._

I groaned at the thought in my head. She responded by staring at me quizzically. Ignoring her questioning look, I walked away. She followed me silently with her arms wrapped around the doll. She trailed me like a small child, with a fluffy doll in her arms and those questioning, innocent eyes.

_She almost looks cute like that..._

I sighed and closed my eyes. What was wrong with me?

~~**~~

A/N: Okay, I'm now starting to make Ryoma feels slightly 'different' towards Menou! I think chapter 8 isn't too early, nee? (On my original plot, it should be in chapter 2 or 3) I will add a bit of RyomaMenou moment in every chapter from now on (I think, if my imagination doesn't go wild and the plot changes again...)

Please Review! I appreciate it a lot!


	9. School Festival Part 2

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in Prince of Tennis, but I do own my OC(s) and this fanfic's plot.

A/N: Sorry for the super procrastination. School's been busy and I need to keep up with my marks. Anyway, enjoy the story! Hope you like it! (There will be a little interaction between Ryoma and Menou in this chapter, but there will be more for the next one! I promise!)

The Dreamer Serve9:

School Festival Part 2

~Menou's POV~

I trailed behind Ryoma silently, watching his back. Playing with the bunny's ear, I moved my gaze from Ryoma to the doll. The bunny – which I named Yuki, simply because it was white – was really cute. It had a pink ribbon with white dots, tied neatly around its neck. I played with it a bit, I just loved dolls! I bet Yuki would want to meet my teddy, Rin. I grinned at my new doll and hugged it again, letting out a small squeal.

Ryoma glanced at me and turned away with a mumble sounded like 'girls'.

I frowned, but joined him soon at the...Seigaku's Regulars Haunted House?!

Before the realization dawned on me, someone had covered my eyes with his hands. I shrieked in surprise, but the person did not let go. I tried to pry them off my eyes with one hand while the other held Yuki, but to no avail. I dropped my shoulders in defeat, hearing chuckles come from behind me. The chuckles sounded so familiar in my ears and it clicked something in my mind. A certain face appeared in my mind...

"Fuji!" I shouted as I forcefully pried his hands off my eyes.

I was greeted by his grinning face. I pouted and glared, but his wide smile did not leave his face. I kept my pout in my face, although it was so hard. I could not resist Fuji's smile for too long! I wanted to smile when I saw his grin. He noticed my struggle, I assumed, since he was chuckling again. He raised his hands in surrender and I stopped my glare. The pout soon followed the glare, disappeared from my face.

He looked over me, towards the booth. "A lot of students have come to our stall. We really enjoy it." He smiled and at the same time we heard screams came from the stall. Soon after, students were seen dashing away for their lives. I sweat-dropped at his carefree response.

"Although I had to say that your brother doesn't seem to like it so much." He indicated with his head behind me.

I turned from Fuji, searching for my brother. He was sitting down in a chair near the entrance of the booth. He was closing his eyes with frown on his face. Annoyed was the right word to explain him at that time. The source of the annoyance had to be his fan girl, who currently was flirting with him. I made a disgusted face at the sight. Not that I was so selfish to keep my brother for my own, but the way she leaned towards my brother seductively...I did not like it.

"I can understand why," I said.

"Aren't you going to save him?"'Fuji asked, indicating to my brother with his head.

I made a face and waved my hand dismissively. "I won't risk my life to save him from that kind of woman. I'd better stay safe here, watching from afar."

The light-brown haired regular laughed lightly, "Well, in the mean time, since your brother is 'busy', why don't you take a look at the Haunted House?"

"What?" I exclaimed incredulously, "Have you forgotten how much I fear ghosts – or anything related to that?"

He smiled, rather evilly, I had to say. "I haven't, but you need not be afraid. The ghosts are all the regulars, you will recognize them."

I shook my head vigorously, disliking his idea so much. "There's no way I'm going inside!"

"Now I wonder why you are so afraid of ghosts," he suddenly said.

I shrugged and lied smoothly. "No reason."

The truth was that I was fearful towards ghosts because of my childhood. When I was a small kid, the older kids had picked on me. They once scared me by leaving me alone in a graveyard. I remembered that I saw something white and flowing moved towards me, causing me to…pee in my pants. Although it might sound normal for a kid to do that – I was four year old back then – I still felt embarrassed about it. After that, I could only cry and wait until the adults came to take me back. The older kids got punished, of course, but it did not help the fact that I had developed an intense fear towards ghosts.

"Ah, but I'm afraid you will go in nonetheless," he replied with a small mischievous smile.

I suddenly got a very bad feeling and before I could retort and question him, someone grabbed my arm and dragged me towards the Haunted House. My brother raised an eyebrow when he watched the person dragging me to the entrance. Before I could ask for his help, we had entered the dim-lighted room. The place immediately gave me the creeps, but first I had to find out who the mysterious person was.

I turned my head to see who pulled me and gasped in response. "Yume-Buchou?!"

"Hi!" she greeted excitedly, her grip firm on my arm.

"Why are you dragging me inside this haunted house?" I tried to escape from her hold. My voice shook slightly in fear.

"Aw, come on. It's fun!" She raised her other hand to the air in high spirits.

I was way too late to get out and decided to follow her. I did not want to enter any further, but I also did not want to be left behind, alone! Hugging my doll firmly, I trailed after Yume.

The place was even dimmer than yesterday. There was no light from the lamps, only small candles in one place or another lit the path. It was also decorated with fake tombs and broken boards. I almost cried because of the fright I felt inside. Yume, however, seemed so carefree. She laughed loudly on our way through the place. She even poked at the lantern-ghost-like decoration.

We had been half-way through the path when someone came up from behind a tomb, I screamed loudly and instinctively hid behind Yume. Yume, however, stared at the ghost curiously. She examined it carefully and in turn, the person stayed still. I bet the person was surprised at Yume's reaction. Yume leaned towards the person's face and grinned evilly.

"Hello, cousin," she said with an almost wicked smile.

The ghost-person stepped back. '"Damn it! Why are you here?'"

From the voice, we could tell that it was indeed Momo. I felt a rush of relief; at least it was not a real ghost, only Momo-senpai. Yume crossed her arms, her smug smile was plastered on her face.

'"Don't be stupid, Momo. Of course, I am here to see the boys regulars' booth." She rolled her eyes and stared at her cousin. "Anyway, you have a price to pay for trying to scare me."

"Huh? Don't tell me." Momo took more steps back, a slight fear showing in his voice.

Yume cracked her hands and grinned evilly. She took a heavy step forward while Momo stepped backward carefully, crouching a bit. They took one step by another and then Yume started to yell with a high-pitch voice. She raised her hand to the air and ran after the frightened Momo. Their voices echoed at the room until they were unheard and their forms were gone. It was a bit funny, actually, seeing a ghost being chased by a person. I sweat-dropped, but then I realized something.

I was left alone.

"Yume-buchou!" I screamed and ran forward, chasing after them. "Wait for me!"

My eyesight didn't help at all, without my glasses in a dim room, I was as blind as a bat! I used my hands to figure where the wall was. Now I wonder why I was so afraid of something that I could not see well. I slowly walked deeper and hoped the tunnel would end. I was scared and alone. What else could make the situation worse?

Unfortunately, there was something that could.

Something touched my shoulder from behind, slowly and lightly, and I had to run for goodness sake! I ran blindly, and strangely was able to run without hitting something. I screamed all the wa and stopped when I hit someone. Instinctively, I raised my fist and was about to punch whoever was there, blocking my way. My knuckle was caught mid-way by a much bigger and stronger hand.

"Hey, what's the rush?"

I let out a breath of relief and lowered my hand. "Fuji, you scared the hell out of me!"

The said guy chuckled. "I did nothing and I have scared you?"

"You're the one started it!" Pouting, I crossed my arms. "First, you made me go to inside. And then guess what? I'm left alone inside while Yume-buchou ran after Momo-senpai. I'm freaked out!"

He smiled and patted my head. I shoved his hand away, glared at him, but it was almost impossible to stay angry with him. Still with the same cheery smile, he took my arm so suddenly that I had no time to respond. Blinking in confusion, I followed him. Fuji slowly moved his hand from my arm to my hand and held it. I could not help but to smile back when he grinned at me. I held his hand back and wandered around the festival together. Ryoma, Yume-buchou, Sakuno, and everyone else were forgotten and left behind.

Not that I liked him the same way I liked Ryoma, but Fuji Shusuke was the best friend and brotherly figure I had always dreamed about. My real brother was the best, I knew that, but he was not exactly the carefree type of brother. Maybe because I grew up with him, the serious and calm older brother, I tended to be and like a more laid-back and cheerful person. We did not have much brother-sister bonding, and so Kunimitsu-nii and I were a bit…distant. Fuji was less serious than him– they were similar in the sense that they were both so cool. I automatically felt and looked at him as another older brother. I wished I had them both from my older brothers. Selfish, I knew, but I could not help it!

When we were walking down the food stands, the light-brown-haired regular treated me to my favourite food: taiyaki. I took them and devoured them one by one. He laughed lightly upon watching me eating the food with gusto. I stuck my out tongue childishly, which only made him chuckle even more.

"Menou-chan! Fuji!" Someone called our names and we turned around.

I grinned broadly, waving my hand. "Hey, Eiji-chan!"

The acrobatic player approached the two of us, followed closely by the vice-captain. Oishi had a soft smile on his face and he raised his hand to greet me. I nodded my head in acknowledgement. Eiji, on the other hand, snatched my food from my hand and ate it happily.

"Eiji!" I scolded him.

He grinned and licked his fingers. "Too bad, it's gone."

I growled at him, but he raised his hands in surrender before I did something. Oishi shook his head and sighed softly. Fuji just simply smiled. I insisted on him giving it back to me for it was mine, but Eiji being Eiji, pretended that he was innocent. Flailing my hands wildly in the air, I persisted again. Instead of giving me the taiyaki, he bought me a cotton candy as an apology. I was not truly satisfied, but it was acceptable, and ate the sweet.

Fuji shook his head, chuckling. "You're really easy to persuade, aren't you?"

I raised an eyebrow, still eating the sweet. "What do you mean?"

He pointed at the cotton candy. "Buying food is one way of persuading you."

I frowned and averted my gaze from him to the Golden Pair. Oishi and Eiji nodded in unison, causing me to pout. Was I that easy to persuade? In the middle of my protest, a friend of mine came and told me to return to the booth since it was yet again time for my shift. I bid good-bye to the three regulars and went back, changing to the maid dress…again.

The time flew very fast when you were busy. I experienced that too, it was hectic when the customers flooded our booth, but then I realized that the clock had shown the closing hour without me noticing. My class celebrated our profit – we were lucky we had profit instead of loss like some other classes – and we got a treat from our homeroom teacher. Again, we did not notice the time flew, but we soon remembered it when the announcement for the dance came.

"_Attention to all students! We hope you have enjoyed this school festival!"_

I could hear a loud cheer, echoing from one place to another.

"_Soon, we will come to our climax event: The Folk Dance! Hopefully you have gotten your partner for the dance, if not, too bad! Let's gather at the field and let the music start! To start, let's play the first request!"_

Surprised and confused, I asked to Yoko. "What is The Folk Dance?"

She seemed aghast at my lack of knowledge. "Don't tell me you don't know!"

"Yeah, I know, that's why I'm asking." I said sarcastically, rolling my eyes. "Could you just tell me about it?"

Shaking her head in amusement, she told me, with many details. It was basically a simple dance between girls and boys. They could also change partners during the interlude of the music. There was a myth behind it, though, saying that if they could dance the last dance with the person they liked, they would become a lover soon enough. It was a typical story at every school, I did not really believe it. What I meant was, every school had the same legend! It was quite strange for every school to have the same tales, right? Still, I put some hope to it, just like many other girls did.

"I'm going to ask Kou!" One of the girls whispered excitedly, a little too loud, I thought.

Kou was Yoko's twin, and he was quite a popular guy. He was in the athletic team, being one of the best runners at school. A quiet and very-much distant guy, he only talked to few people. His classmates only saw him talking to either Yoko or teachers. He could talk to us once in a while, but it was very rare. His looks were not bad either, having short black hair with dark brown, calm eyes, and a tall build made him even more attractive to the girls in my class.  
Save for Yoko, a few other girls, and me.

"Hey! Not fair! I want to ask him too!" Another retorted, having an argument.

Yoko shook her head. "I can't understand why Kou is so popular."

I giggled. "He is simply cool the way he is."

"So, who are you going to ask, Menou?" She asked curiously.

I blushed pink and stuttered, "N-No one."

Someone tapped my shoulder from behind and I turned my face to meet…

A/N: Cliffhanger! If you want me to publish the next one faster, please review ^^ Thanks for reading and your constructive criticism.


	10. School Festival Part 3

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the character in Prince of Tennis, but I do own my OC(s) and this fanfic's plot.

A/N: This is basically similar – or almost the same – to the previous chapter, but in Ryoma's POV ^____^ and in the end there will be some addition. As I promised, there are Ryoma and Menou's moments here. Oh, and this is the last chapter of School Festival, and is longer than any chapter I've posted. Hope you all don't get bored with the School Festival. Enjoy reading!

The Dreamer Serve 10:

School Festival Part 3

~Ryoma's POV~

I continued my way from the labyrinth and just headed straight to our booth. The clock showed it was already noon and I did not want to be scolded for being late. The corridor was filled with many rowdy students. The sister of the captain still trailed behind me, silently watching me from the back. When I glanced at her, she was playing with her doll's ear and ribbon. Not a minute later, she let out a very girlish squeal.

"Girls," I muttered in a low voice so that she could not hear.

Stopping at my destination, I looked up just slightly. She joined me soon enough, and her eyes were thrown wide open at the sight. I had expected that; she was scared enough the previous day and most likely would be now. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Fuji silently creep behind her, signaling me to stay silent with his finger on his lips. He covered her eyes with both of his hands out of the blue, earning a shrill shriek from her. I had to cover my ears to block the piercing sound. Seeing she was now with Fuji, I proceeded to enter the booth. It was my turn to be a 'ghost', so troublesome.

I put on a monster-like glove on my left hand and hid behind a pillar. The room was really dark and had an air of eeriness, although I was not scared a bit. A group of laughing students– although it was a forced and nervous laugh – came towards my hiding place. Slowly, I moved towards them and shot out my left hand, reaching the last boy's shoulder, successfully scaring the hell out of him. He ran like a mad man, and out of the room. His friends were close behind with almost the same speed, shouting. Smirking, I changed my opinion: maybe it wouldn't be as bad as I thought.

"Hey, Echizen!" A voice called me.

I looked to see a white figure behind me and narrowed my eyes suspiciously. The figure spoke again – by then I recognized his voice as Momo-senpai's – so, it had to be him inside that white cloak. He whined about being a ghost and how uncomfortable his clothes were, but laughed when talking about the running, scared-for-their-lives students. I shook my head and moved back to my 'hiding' place. Huffing in annoyance when I ignored him, Momo-senpai strode away to his place behind the fake tombstone.

Waiting patiently, I noticed another group of people entered the booth. There was a familiar voice and I peeked out to find the same girl that followed me earlier had just entered. My mouth opened slightly at her stupidity. She was obviously scared of ghost, why in the world was she entering a Haunted House? Her arm was being held firmly by someone, whom later I realized was the captain of the girls' tennis team. The older girl seemed to be happy, very bold, and was not affected by the grotesque decoration. However, that idiot girl was shaking, with her arms wrapped around her doll, hugging it firmly. In contrast, the girls' captain guffawed and poked at the lantern-ghost-like decoration, grinning crazily.

They were coming close to Momo-senpai's place and just as I expected, that guy jumped from behind the tomb. The girl – Menou, I believe her name was – screamed instantly and hid behind the older girl, clinging to the brown-haired one's back like a helpless child, predictable. The short-light-brown-haired girl inspected Momo curiously, while my senior only remained frozen. She squinted at him and smirked evilly, maybe she could guess who he was.

"Hello, cousin," she said with a vicious smile, leaning her face towards him.

Ah yes, I forgot they were cousin.

Momo-senpai stepped back fearfully. '"Damn it! Why are you here?'"

'"Don't be stupid, Momo. Of course, I am here to see the boys regulars' booth." She rolled her eyes with her hands on her hips. "Anyway, you have a price to pay for trying to scare me."

"Huh? Don't tell me." Momo took more steps back, a hint of fear showing in his voice.

The girl cracked her knuckles and grinned evilly, taking a step forward while Momo-senpai stepped backward carefully. I got a bad feeling about this. They took one final step before she started to shout loudly. Her hands were on the air as she chased after the panicky Momo-senpai. Voices echoed at the room, gradually decreasing, and their forms were completely gone in the darkness. I sighed at those two, and waited for Menou's reaction after being left alone. Being a little slow, she took several seconds to realize she was alone. She screamed and dashed after them.

I was a bit worried. It was too risky to leave her alone in this Haunted House, seeing how she had cried the day before. It would not be funny if she collapsed half-way through. Secretly, I trailed after her, just to make sure she could get out. She used her hands to feel the wall and search for the way out, why could she not see? Well, it was not my business, anyway. Her progress was slow and it ticked me off. I got out from behind the pillar and walked up behind her, touching her shoulder lightly. Unexpectedly, she screamed and ran out, amazingly, without hitting a thing. I forgot completely about this glove I was wearing, but again, maybe she was just scared by the sudden touch.

She dropped her doll accidentally, due to her panic, and I picked it up. First she was stupid, now she was also careless. What else could she be? I sighed and glanced outside the exit to find her, but she had walked away with Fuji, his hand on her upper arm. I noticed the surprised look on the captain for a second, but he composed himself within seconds. I felt a slight annoyance remembering how they walked away, together, but put it aside. I should have felt relieved, but instead I felt a little troubled. Something was definitely wrong with me…

"There he is! Echizen!"

Much to my dismay, Horio and his group found me again. I quickly got inside the booth to avoid them, which was successful, unbelievably. They were too scared to enter the scary place – they tried, but were too afraid and stopped half-way through. The rest of my time was spent inside the Haunted House. I got a feeling that the others were having fun outside, but I did not like the crowd. It was better to stay inside this room, in solitude. The rabbit doll she left behind was still with me, even after we closed the booth she did not return to search for it. I took it and walked away, planning to give it to her classmate to give it back to her. I quickly cancelled that plan, since I knew no one but her in her class. Having no choice, I headed towards her class in hope she would be there.

"_Attention to all students! We hope you have enjoyed this school festival!"_

On my way to the class, an announcement was made, to which the students cheered in chorus excitedly.

"_Soon, we will come to our climax event: The Folk Dance! Hopefully you have gotten a partner for the dance, if not, too bad! Let's gather at the field and let the music start! To start, let's play the first request!"_

I had heard about it from Ryuzaki before. It was a dance between girls and boys. They could change partners, but many refused to change partner since their partner was the person they liked. There was a myth behind it, saying that if they could do the last dance with the person they liked, they would become a lover. Ryuzaki and her friend had tried to force me to dance with one of them, but I refused. It was just a bunch of lies, and I was not into something romantic like that.

As I neared the room of class 1-4, I heard Menou's voice, talking with another girl. I stayed at the door, not daring to enter, and discreetly watched her.

"So, who are you going to ask, Menou?" Her friend asked curiously, a small curious grin on her face.

"N-No one," she stuttered in response, her cheeks flushed.

A skinny guy approached her and tapped her shoulder, causing her to turn her head sharply. The guy was tall with short black hair and dark brown eyes. The other girls around her gasped and murmured, while the girl who talked with her just now had her jaw dropped. I frowned at the reactions of the girls, especially the only one I knew. The black-haired girl blinked several times with her mouth slightly open, she had to be as bewildered as her classmates.

"Tezuka, can I talk to you?" he asked, calling her with her family name.

She blinked again before answering nonchalantly. "Sure. What's it about?"

The guy only repeated his inquiry. "Not here. Can I talk to you in private?"

It caused more gasps to erupt from most of the girls. At the moment, I could see she was gaping and her eyes were wide. She glanced at her now-wide-eyed-with-jaw-dropped friend, frozen. After a pregnant pause, she finally nodded and stood up to walk with him. They did not notice my presence, giving me a chance to track them. Entering an empty room, he did what I had guessed. He asked her to be his dance partner, for the last dance to be specific. She did not answer the question, but looked back quizzically. He admitted he kind of like her and wanted her to be his partner. Seeing her blush, I could guess the rest of the conversation and so I walked away.

Night sure came fast, and the students had gathered on the field. The romantic aura made me a little sick, especially from the over-affectionate couples who were hugging or cuddling. I stayed in my class, vacant, watching from the window. No one stayed behind; they all went to dance or just to talk with their friends on the field. However, I was not in the mood to do that. I recalled the strange feeling I experienced towards Menou. She was just another female friend of mine, not that we were close. She got a chance to talk more to me because she was close to another regular like Fuji and Eiji, not to mention her brother was my captain. Nonetheless, it did not mean there was something between us.

"Echizen, what're you doing here?"

I looked over my shoulder to see Momo-senpai, Eiji-senpai, and Fuji-senpai. All of them looked ecstatic with gleeful smiles. Momo-senpai approached me, putting one hand on my shoulder. Staring at him hard, I sent a questioning look with furrowed eyebrows. Before he spoke, Eiji-senpai also put his hand on my other shoulder, and they dragged me out of the room. I protested, but was simply and obviously ignored as they pulled me away. Our destination was the field, where all of the students had gathered. In the midst of the crowd, I spotted several familiar figures.

Without warning, they pushed me hard toward Ryuzaki and we collided. The girl immediately blushed and stuttered a 'sorry'. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her friend with pigtails was fuming. I glanced to the other side to see Menou with her big brother – much to my relief…why did I feel relieved? Anyway, it seemed the captain paired up with his sister to avoid his fan-girls, and at the same time keeping guys away from her sister. Fuji sometimes teased him for being over-protective; maybe it was the truth after all.

I regained my composure, brushing my slightly crumpled uniform. "What's this all about?"

"You're dancing, of course! You've to live a little, Echizen!" Momo-senpai grinned brightly.

Staring at him hard, I replied, "No."

He gawked at my expression. "What? No?! You're dancing! Others are dancing, you are too!"

Before I further retorted, the music changed, becoming mellower. The students made a circle around the bonfire and I was – somehow – stuck in it. I blamed Momo-senpai – who was also in the circle with an unknown girl – for this. Ryuzaki timidly reached out and held my hand and we danced, with her stumbling a lot, stuttering 'sorry' many times. A distinct giggle reached my ears and I glanced back to take a look at Menou stepping on her brother's foot and was apologizing to him with embarrassment written all over her face; Tezuka-buchou only stared at her emotionlessly. Before I realized it, the song stopped and another song was played. The girl moved from her partner to the guy in front of her, and so Ryuzaki moved to partner up with Momo-senpai. Meanwhile…

"Hey, Ryoma-kun," her voice greeted me, a tone of shyness in it.

I shrugged and took her hand, having the initiative this time. She smiled at me, cheeks rosy, and reached out to grasp my hand slightly, moving in front of me. Her other hand was placed on my free hand and we slowly swayed back and forth. Even from behind, I could see her pink cheeks and hear a small giggle come from her. The music slowly faded, but it was only to my ears; it did not stop, but I was examining this girl in front of me; I forgot about everything else.

She was smaller than me – I had realized that a while ago, though – the crown of her head only reached my eyes. I took a look at her right hand, noticing her slightly tanned skin. Her head was exactly in front of my face. Faintly, I could smell a fresh scent from her long, raven hair, which was cascading down her back. It seemed she decided to let it loose for the event. Her hair smelled like a mix of lemon and peach, I inhaled deeply at the pleasant aroma.

My reverie was broken when she accidentally stepped on my foot, and I winced a bit. She looked back at me with her brown-honeyed eyes, grinning apologetically with a small flush. I shrugged and kept dancing with her, waited until the song ended, although I was enjoying her presence. The music faded, until there was nothing and the emcee announced it was the last dance. We both were stunned, and our holds on each other were not loosened. The two of us knew very well about the legend. I looked down at her, while she tilted her head back slightly to look up at me. A blush was evident in her face. Our eyes were locked for a long time.

A cough caused us to break apart abruptly. We both spun our heads to meet the stern-looking Tezuka-buchou who called her, saying it was time to go home – an excuse to get her away, probably. He was staring at me hard and I looked away, slightly embarrassed. Next to me, Menou was cupping her face with her hands, as if it might erase the blush. She glanced at me, flashing a shy smile, and nervously fumbled with her fingers while looking at her feet. For the first time in my life, I felt a bit nervous around a girl and did not know what to do.

Suddenly, I remembered about the doll she left behind. The doll had to be in my classroom. I told her to wait, and she submissively agreed. At a rather fast pace, I walked back to the class – it was not that far – and returned with her doll. Upon noticing the white fluff bunny, she squealed and practically jumped in joy. Quickly thanking me, she ran towards her brother who had already walking away, heading home. He cast a questioning look in her direction, but she only locked her arms around his tightly, staring at him with glittering eyes and an innocent smile. Sighing, he let the matter drop; it was apparent he had a soft spot for his younger sister.

And it seemed…I had a soft spot for the same girl, too.

_***_

A/N: Yay! Chapter 10! Finally! Sorry about the postponing. As usual, busy with school work and exams. Starting from this, I'm going to build the Ryoma and Menou relationship. If you're wondering, Sakuno danced the last dance with Momo (remember Ryoma saying Momo was dancing with an unknown girl? He was in front of Ryoma, so Sakuno danced with him :D). Thanks for reading, review please! ^^


	11. Summer Camp Part 1

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the character in Prince of Tennis, but I do own my OC(s) and this fanfic's plot.

A/N: Sorry for the lateness! Enjoy reading!

*******************

The Dreamer Serve11:

Summer Camp Part 1

* * *

~Menou's POV~

"Menou, wake up!" A loud voice woke me up and at the same time, the same person shook me vigorously.

I groaned in annoyance, being woken up roughly from my peaceful nap, and answered – or snapped – with my eyes still closed. "What?"

The person once again shook me hard when I refused to open my eyes, although I was awake. "We're here! We're reaching the camp!"

The words slowly sunk in, and reluctantly, I opened my closed eyelids. I could make out an outline of someone hovering over me. I rubbed my eyes and was able to see more clearly, realising it was Ame. She stared at me, waiting patiently for me to be fully awakened. Her reddish-brown eyes shone with anticipation. Stretching my sore muscles, I sat up straight. My brown-haired classmate grinned broadly and pointed to the window, half-dragging my arm.

I also smiled at the sight. It was true we were nearing the site of the summer camp. Not a minute later, we came to a halt, and Yume proudly announced we had arrived. Everyone cheered, took their belongings, and jumped down the bus. The camp was huge, the first thing I noticed. It consisted of five wooden cottages surrounded by forest. As I inhaled, a crisp fresh mountain air entered my lungs. The place was definitely wonderful.

"Menou, it's time to gather!" Ame called me, she herself had gathered with the rest of the first year.

Rushing, I approached and stood beside her. From a distance, I looked at Sakuno, seemingly lost and confused in the big crowd of people. Assuming she was alone, since Tomo was not in the tennis club, I waved my hand and indicated to her to come joining me and Ame. She gladly did so and smiled shyly and thankfully when she reached me. Ame inquired me about her, so I introduced them to each other. They both smiled and shook hand lightly.

Just as they finished, Yume shouted loudly, calling my name in specific, reprimanded me to stop talking while she was doing so. All eyes of the girls were on me immediately, causing me to flush in embarrassment. I hung my head down, cheeks pink in colour, silently following the command, consciously tightening my grip on my bag strap. I was not angry at her, but I was totally flustered. Why did she have to say my name, on top of all people? The noise was not coming from me!

"Okay, listen to me, everyone!" She shouted loudly, continuing her speech, one hand on her hip, another hand holding a piece of paper. "We're going to dismiss you now. You're going to your respective room and be at the court in ten minutes. Otherwise, you'll be punished! "

There were gasps and murmurs of surprise among us.

I was not murmuring though. As I raised my head to look at her, my mouth was hung open, being too shocked to comment. I thought about how to get to the court within ten minutes, which was located approximately two kilometers away from our bungalow, not forgetting we had to go to our room first.

The female captain ignored the murmur and proceeded to shout out the respective rooms.

I registered hearing her calling my name, Sakuno, and Hanabi Aoi-senpai, would stay in room 203. Looking at Sakuno, I grinned at her and she smiled back. From afar, I noticed Aoi-senpai giving me the victory sign, her other hand showing a key which I assumed was our room key, and I smiled at her, giving a thumb-up. I had a match with Aoi-senpai once. Although at first she disliked me, we had become friend. Sometimes she even helped me practicing.

Even after the announcement was finished, the murmur did not cease down. In fact, it was getting louder and louder. I assumed some girls were placed in a room with girl they disliked.

"Don't complain!" Yume shouted angrily and grumpily, crossing her arms. "You have ten minutes, starting from…now!"

In a matter of seconds, everyone rushed towards their respective room. I joined in, trailing closely behind Sakuno and Ame. Half-way, Ame separated from us and went towards her room. Sakuno and I exchanged a look while kept running. When we arrived, Aoi-senpai had opened the room's door and entered, behind her we followed suit. I literally threw my bag to an empty bed, while Aoi had put her own bag on the bed across mine and Sakuno placed hers on the floor besides her bed, which was next to mine.

We all made a mad dash out of the room, slamming the door closed in process. The black-curly-haired regular was definitely faster than Sakuno and I. Within half-a-minute, she was far ahead us. I could barely follow her pace, but I forced myself to make it on time even if I could not match her. Behind me, Sakuno was panting hard. I cheered her to keep up, to which she nodded, and increased my own pace.

We would not fail!

****

"Time's up!" Yume announced, looking at her watch.

My hands were on my knees as I breathed irregularly and coughed desperately for more air. Sakuno was sitting on her knees on the ground next to me, panting hard. Almost everyone was out of breaths, save for the regulars, who looked as healthy and calm as usual. Our captain was skimming over us and our surroundings, seemingly satisfied with the number of members passing, which was all. I knew the reason why all of us ran was because we were afraid of getting scolded and punished by Yume, knowing her punishment was nasty.

Did you want to stand for hours under the hot scorching sun while having a bucket of water on top of your head, and holding one on each of your hand?

I definitely did not want that.

The girl captain grinned brightly after a moment of silence. "Good, so we can start our practice now!"

A loud groan

An angry shout

And we all were off for the warming up.

I panted as I started the jog. My stamina was so limited and I did not have time to recover. The warming up would be a hellish one. The regulars were running in front of us, only a little out of breaths. Aoi, who ran passed me, cheered me up, before dashing to catch up with her friends. After two laps, most of us had given up, yet the regulars were still having a heated match among themselves. My goodness, where did they get that strength from?

At the end of my third laps, I limped towards the end of the track. I sat down on the ground, panting heavily, my body shaking slightly. Ame and Sakuno came a bit later, and both of them tottered towards me, sitting around me. My fellow classmate was sweating a lot. She was definitely exhausted since she was lying on her back on the ground with her arms wide opened, chest heaving. Sakuno was sitting next to me, trying to catch her breaths.

We all remained quiet as we watched the regulars running round the track for their last lap. They ran five laps, two more laps than us, and still looked fit.

What in the world were they made of?

"And we sometimes wonder why they're in regulars," I murmured absent-mindedly.

Ame laughed lightly. "Yup, remind me when I start to wonder again the next time."

"The three of you there!" Yume's voice boomed, catching us by surprise. "Hurry up and get ready for the next practice! We've no time to waste!"

I quickly jumped to my feet and ran towards the court. Ame was even faster, running ahead me, together with Sakuno. Sighing, I took out my racquet and a tennis ball. Coach Ryuzaki was concentrating with the guys, so she was not around. While the regulars trained among themselves, preparing for the upcoming competition, the non-regulars were allowed to do their own training. Ame, Sakuno, and I headed towards a less crowded place for our own practice.

"What'd you want to do?" Ame asked suddenly, turning to me and Sakuno, walking backwards.

Sakuno replied softly. "Uh, maybe we can practice hitting the ball and swinging racquets."

Ame nodded. "I don't mind. What about you, Menou?"

"I'm fine with that," I said with a smile, agreeing.

We kept walking to find a nice and empty spot, not noticing that we were getting closer to the boys' courts.

The three of us were so busy chit-chatting and was really shocked when we heard a shout. Immediately, we went into a halt. As I turned my head, I was greeted by something hard hitting my forehead. I yelled in pain and dropped my belonging while my hands flew to my forehead. I crouched on the ground, still rubbing my aching forehead. Sakuno and Ame were next to me in a matter of seconds, checking me.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to- Menou-chan?" a familiar voice said.

Looking up, I was met with a perplexed Eiji. "Eiji?"

He grinned apologetically, scratching the back of his head. "Ehehe, sorry about that," he said as he pointed to the tennis ball on the ground, "I didn't mean to hit you."

I stood up again, followed by my two friends. One hand remained on my forehead, rubbing it softly. "What're you doing here?"

Eiji looked confused. Pointing his thumb to behind him, he stated, "It's very near to the boys' courts. I think it's me who should wonder why you're here."

"Free time," I said nonchalantly, "We're trying to find a spot for practice."

"Oh, I see," he smiled, hearing Coach Ryuzaki shouting his name, "I've to go. See you later!"

I waved at him as he ran back to the court for his practice. I noticed my brother, Fuji, Oishi, and…Ryoma, as always, on the court. I was unsure whether it was real or not, but I felt Ryoma looked at me and we made a brief eye contact. I pushed aside the thought, knowing it had to be my imagination, and turned around and spoke to Ame and Sakuno, who was also staring at the boys' court, to find another spot. We all agreed unanimously and walked away.

****

"You like Echizen, don't you?" Ame questioned – more like stated – out of the blue.

As a response to her question, I swung my racquets too fast, missing the ball, and too hard, causing me to spin on the place, landing on the ground on my bottom. Rubbing my sore bottom, I stood up and spun around. Flabbergasted, I exclaimed to the cross-legged sitting girl. "What?"

She pointed to me, and then to Sakuno. "The two of you like Echizen Ryoma, right?"

Sakuno blushed deep red and started to stutter a denial, to which Ame sniggered and rolled her eyes. I felt my cheeks were a bit warmer than usual, but instead of denying the truth, I ignored her. I threw my ball up and hit it, sending it to the wall.

After hitting it eight times in a row, I swung my racquet too hard and the ball flew over the wall. I excused myself from them – Sakuno was still crimson and trying to convince Ame that she did not like Ryoma – and jogged to find my ball. I reached an area with tall grass and tress. Sighing, I tried to find my ball among tall bushes and grass, bending down and trying to feel my ball. The bushes were so thick that I could barely see what was among them. I had no choice, but to rely on my touch sense.

As I stepped deeper into the small forest and further rummaged around the bushes, I felt a sharp pain. I yelped and pulled my hands back. There was a long gash on my left palm, blood oozing from the wound. It seemed that I had accidentally gotten scratched by a sharp twig. Fumbling to take a handkerchief on my skirt pocket, I held my left hand up. Just as I took the handkerchief out, I heard someone calling my name.

I turned around swiftly and was faced with Momo and Ryoma.

"W-what are you two doing here?" I said in surprise, swiftly hiding my injured hand behind my back.

Momo rubbed the back of his neck, grinning sheepishly. "Well, I hit the ball too hard and it got into this area."

Rolling his eyes, Ryoma mumbled, "Mada-mada dane."

Glaring at the shorter one, Momo carried on and asked me. "What about you, Menou-chan? What are you doing here?"

I forced a grin since the pain on my left hand increasing slightly, rubbing the back of my head with my good hand. "Ah, I lost my ball too."

Momo grinned even wider, and walked into the tall bushes. "Okay, let's search together then!"

Nodding, I turned away from them, wanting to take care of my wound secretly. Yet, I was unable to do so because someone had grabbed my right arm, causing me to turn my head towards the person. I was dumbfounded to see Ryoma. He had a serious look on his face. There was something on his greenish-gold eyes that I could not comprehend.

"Mada-mada dane," he said, grabbing my left hand forcefully as I gasped.

He turned my hand so that the palm was facing upwards. The blood had made its way to my wrist, staining my white wristband. Ryoma sighed and dragged me out of the area, towards the clearing. Our senior shouted angrily, complaining that he was left alone, but Ryoma ignored him and continued to drag me. I submissively followed him, not that I had a choice. He had a deadly grip on my wrist.

We reached a place with drinking taps. Ryoma turned on one of the taps and shoved my hand under the running water. I yelped at the contact of my hand with the cold water. Although I tried to withdraw my hand, his steel grip prevented me from doing so. Tears started to form on my eyes and I had to bite my lips in order not to scream. My right hand unconsciously tightened its grip on my handkerchief. After some time, the water was stopped and I relaxed my tense body, releasing a breath that I did not realise I had been holding. The blood flow had reduced considerably.

I felt Ryoma took my handkerchief from my right hand and he, much to my surprise, wrapped it around my injured hand. He tied the cloth tightly and securely so that the blood would stop oozing.

Then the blush came.

Before I was concentrating on the pain, not on the fact that Ryoma was holding my hand and had just helped me dressing my wound. After the pain disappeared, the reality sunk in and I felt myself blushing profusely. Then he worsened the situation by staring at me.

"U-uh," I stammered under his intense gaze, struggling to keep an eye contact, "T-thank you."

"Hn," he replied casually, letting go of my hand.

"Damn it, Echizen!" Momo's voice boomed suddenly.

Both of us turned to face him. He was a total mess. Small twigs and leaves were all around his clothes. His face was dirty and sweaty. Some parts of his shirt were slightly torn.

On his right hand was the two missing balls. "You dare leaving me alone to find these two balls!"

Ryoma only shrugged and rolled his eyes.

Momo was really irked, ready to shout at him. "You little- What happened to your hand, Menou-chan?" He asked as noticed my injured left hand.

Smiling nervously, I answered. "Ah, I got…scratched by something back then on the bushes."

"Oh," Momo's irritation was replaced by slyness, as he pointed to Ryoma. "So, this guy helped you with your scratch?"

I felt the blush returning, unable to reply to his inquiry.

Laughing, Momo slung his arm around Ryoma's shoulder and head-locked him. "You should be honest, Echizen! You should just say it if you want to spend time with your girlfriend!"

I flushed a deeper shade of red at his bold statement.

"Hn," Ryoma sighed and closed his eyes, "Mada-mada dane."

Momo only grinned even wider and threw one of the balls to me, telling me to catch it. I caught it with both hands. He threw it hard and the ball happened to give a pressure to my wound, causing me to wince. A sudden yelp from Momo surprised me even more. My senior was jumping with both of his hands holding one of his feet. I casted a questioning glance at Ryoma, who was looking at his senior coolly. I frowned in puzzlement. What had just happened?

Just then two familiar voices called me.

Turning around, I saw Sakuno and Ame jogging towards me. I grinned nervously as Ame glared at me. Sakuno only looked back and forth at me and Ame. I noticed her eyes wandered slightly to the two guys standing not far from us. But my attention was on Ame. From her look, I knew she was enraged that I did not immediately return. In addition, she also carried my things with her. So, it meant her anger might be doubled.

Oh boy…

"Where were you? We're waiting for you!" Ame began, scolding me with her fists on her hip.

"Uh, searching the ball?" I said not-so-smartly, trying to find an excuse.

She rolled her eyes, about to shout at me again…when Ryoma, unexpectedly again, came to rescue.

"She injured herself," was his deadpan statement.

"What?" Ame raised an eyebrow as she chorused with Sakuno.

I rubbed the back of my head with my right hand. "Uh, yes, but it's not a big injury, just a scratch."

The brown-haired girl eyed me suspiciously. "Show me."

Halfheartedly, I showed her my bandaged hand – the blood had stained the handkerchief – and she gasped. "It's not just a scratch! It's a big cut!"

"Uh, yeah?" I responded, unsure, grinning.

"Idiot, let's get you some medical help!" she exclaimed, grabbed my wrist, and dragged me away.

"Ame!" I complained as she walked.

Why did people like to drag me???

"W-wait!" I heard Sakuno's voice rang from behind me.

Looking over my shoulder, I saw her running to join Ame and I. Momo and Ryoma were standing still on their spots. I nodded and waved at the two guys with my free hand. My senior grinned and waved back, not noticing Ryoma had already walking away. By the time Momo realised Ryoma was gone, the latter was already far ahead him. I chuckled at the sight of Momo shouting and screaming at his junior.

"What in the world are you laughing about?" Ame inquired as she looked at me with questioning look, still walking and dragging me.

"Nothing important," I waved my right hand dismissively, earning a frown from her.

Yup, nothing important, only a little happiness I kept for myself…


	12. Summer Camp Part 2

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the character in Prince of Tennis, but I do own my OC(s) and this fanfic's plot.

A/N: Sorry for any grammar mistakes or any other errors. I will go through this chapter after my exams to correct any errors.

**The Dreamer Serve12:**

**Summer Camp Part 2**

_~Menou's POV~_

As we reached the main cottage, Ame immediately called the coach and ordered me to sit still. Coach Ryuzaki immediately un-wrapped the handkerchief and took out some ointment from the first-aid kit, placing it on my palm. Believe me, it stung badly. I winced and whined slightly when she placed that white ointment on the cut. She ignored it though, and proceeded to lecture me while cleaning the scratch.

Fortunately, the cut did not obstruct me from continue practicing. I was really thankful that I was right-handed, unlike my brother. If I was left-handed, surely I would not be able to hold the racquet.

Ame opposed the idea of I continue practicing, but she eventually gave up when I argued and insisted. On the other hand, Sakuno said no word about it, surprisingly, although she repeatedly shot me a worried look. I tried not to be so aware of her continuous glances and continued swinging my racquets.

"Hey, Menou," Yume called as she tapped my shoulder using her racquet from behind.

Looking at her, I replied cheerfully, "Hi, Yume-buchou."

She stared at me – or my left hand specifically. "What the hell happened to your hand?"

I mentally sighed. People had been asking me about my bandaged hand since I returned to the practice session. If they did not ask, they would shoot me a questioning look. To be honest, it annoyed me. I did not like to be the centre of attention.

"A scratch," I said nonchalantly, waving my good hand dismissively.

My captain frowned, disbelief written on her face. "Really?"

Nodding confidently, I replied with a smile, "Really, this is nothing."

"Okay, if that's so," she said with a sly grin, "You won't mind helping me out, will you?"

"What?" I asked, astounded, the smile disappeared from my face.

Before I could answer properly, she has grabbed my right wrist and dragged me to do whatever she wanted me to do. And seriously, people had to stop dragging me around!

[[[[[[[[[[[]]]]]]]]]]]]

"Yume-buchou," I whined pathetically, carrying the tennis-ball-loaded box with difficulty, stumbling a bit.

"What is it?" she asked in a sing-song voice, still walking, apparently ignorant to my whine.

"It's heavy," I complained, albeit did not stop walking.

She frowned, turning her head slightly to glance at me from the corner of her eyes. "Are you kidding me? These are so light!"

She was carrying two similar boxes to mine, both fully loaded. While I carried one with difficulties, Yume-buchou carried two as if they weighed of a feather. I was a bit annoyed when I realized that it almost as if they represented the difference between the two of us, our difference in tennis skills.

The reason why she asked me, out of all people, to help her was beyond my thinking ability. Well, maybe that was because she knew I would not refuse...not that I had the chance to refuse her request. She practically dragged me into the mess.

I dismissed the thoughts, and huffed in defeat, as I knew she would not pay any attention to my complaint. "Fine, never mind."

As she heard my admittance of defeat, she hummed happily and walked faster, jumping sometimes. She spun around and grinned at me. I shook my head and ignored whatever she was doing.

Gosh, how mature...

And to think she was older...

We continued to walk in silence until I heard my captain started to rant about why we were bringing the boxes. Yume-buchou explained to me that the boys kept losing the balls and wasted more of their time searching for balls instead of practicing. Coach Ryuzaki asked us to carry more balls to the boys' court since the girls' practice ended earlier, hoping she could save more time looking for the balls. I chuckled on that, imagining how our coach got so angered over the lost balls and the boys got so scared of her.

"Great! We're almost there!" She yelled happily.

I could not help but smile as well. I shifted the box a bit, as it was about to slip, and continued walking, following my captain.

However, before we even reached the court, somebody had taken the box from my grips. Blinking in surprise, I looked up to see Fuji hovering over me with a smile plastered on his face. I could not help but to smile back.

"Hi, Menou-chan," he greeted me, moving next to me, carrying the box in his hands. "Helping Yume?"

I nodded, and looked back at my captain, who just passed the box she carried to her _beloved _cousin. Momo started to complain angrily, but the moment my captain shot him a deadly glare, he stopped, turned around and walked away hastily. I giggled at the sight, the two were too funny.

Out of the blue, Fuji bent down slightly and asked in concern, "What happened?"

"Huh?" I answered stupidly, not understanding his concern.

He indicated to my bandaged hand using his head. "Your left hand."

"_Again?"_ I complained mentally, but answered him nonetheless. "It's nothing. Just a small scratch."

Fuji gave me a disbelieving look, but he dropped the matter off when I hid my hand and looked away. It seemed that he got the clue: I did not want to talk about it. For a moment, his smile faltered, but it quickly returned. He nodded and bid me good-bye and walked away with the box of balls I carried previously. I waved at him as Yume-buchou returned with a satisfied smile, happy that she got to 'bully' her _precious_ cousin. She nodded towards Fuji, who smiled at her as he walked away, and strode towards me.

Casually, she slung an arm across my shoulders. "Okay, let's go back Menou!" I just nodded uninterestedly.

She grinned widely at my lack of enthusiasm. "Let's go back so we can have more training!"

In my mind, I cursed and questioned, "_Is she a training-holic or something?"_

As if she could read my mind, she gave me a wicked grin. "Don't worry, Menou! We'll have_ a lot_ of trainings!"

I groaned openly at her statement as she started to jog back towards the girls' training fields while I had to run to catch up with her.

[[[[[[[[[[[]]]]]]]]]]]]

[[[[[[[]]]]]]]

[[[[[]]]]]

"Bed!" Aoi-senpai jumped onto her bed, not bothering to change her clothes.

Sakuno and I smiled at her antic as we both took off our shoes. Unlike our senior, who immediately dozed off the moment her head touched her pillow, we took turn to change our clothes in the bathroom. After we both changed our clothes, we sat down on our respective beds, stared at each other for a second and sighed simultaneously. The twin-braided-haired girl lay down on her bed while I stretched my sore body.

We had spent four days in the camp. The trainings were tough, certainly. Those few days had only been filled with trainings, meals, and sleeps. That was exactly why I was really thankful that the camp would end soon and we could go back the next day. After stretching, I lay down on my back. A small sigh escaped my lips as I relaxed. Although the training had been hard, I was happy that I was able to survive through the trainings...and to be able to see Ryoma more.

I immediately sat up straight at the thought of him. Why in the world was I thinking about him? I meant, sure he was nice to me on the first day, helping me with the scratch – it was healing, by the way. Then he helped me out finding my ball the next day, and asked about the scratch quite casually, and our eyes did meet several times, and-

Nothing! There was absolutely, nothing, between us!

It was just a normal interaction...right?

Mentally, I groaned as I plopped back into my bed. I was kind of scared that I was developing more than just a little crush on him...maybe I did like him.

A sudden slam caused me to sit up once again. Sakuno also sat up straight, while Aoi-senpai refused to move. "Hey, lazy bums! Get out and let's have our dinner!"

"Yume-buchou?" Aoi-senpai raised her head slightly from her pillow, still dazed.

Our captain was standing right in front of our room's door. "No, it's your pretty, sparkly, fairy-godmother. Of course, it's me! Come on! Oh, and wear some jackets or sweaters!"

The three of us slowly nodded and satisfied, Yume-buchou left us to do as we were told before. I picked my light-blue cardigan. Sakuno wore her pink-and-white sweater, while Aoi-senpai just randomly grabbed a black jacket from her bag. The three of us exited the room together and Aoi-senpai, yawning, locked the door.

Once we got into the cafeteria area, there were few people there. It seemed most people were exhausted by the trainings and were out cold in their respective rooms. We took a spot on an empty table and fell into silence, except Aoi-senpai who laid down her head on the table and slept. After about ten minutes, people started to stream into the cafeteria.

The table became full. I could see the regulars were sitting together, separated into two tables. Fuji apparently noticed me since he waved his hand at me. I waved back and smiled as the other regulars – Kikumaru, Oishi, and Kunimitsu-nii – looked at the direction of my table. Ryuzaki-sensei appeared out of nowhere and announced that we could eat since all people had gathered. I was thankful since I was hungry. And at the mention of the word 'food', Aoi-senpai jolted awake. I chuckled at her when she hungrily ate – or gobbled – her food.

The dinner went with a small chatter here and there, but it was mostly quiet, at least in my table. Momo-senpai and Kaido-senpai actually got into a fight to be the fastest to finish their food. Since they finished at the same time, they argued who actually won. There were two other two people in their table, namely Ryoma, who did not care, and Taka-senpai, who tried to appease the two. The argument went on, until my brother stepped in and stopped them. The two were still glaring at each other, but stopped their debate.

"Okay, attention here!" I heard a familiar voice of our coach. "As you know, today's the last day of the camp."

She paused, before grinning and continued, "As a closing event, we'll have a courage test!"

There were cheers and groans.

"What?" I almost shrieked.

A courage test, as my brother told me before, was a test where you would be told to go in the dark forest with only a small candle. We were supposed to get back a tennis ball placed near the shrine deep inside the forest. No one could tell what could appear along the way. I shuddered at the thoughts. I hate darkness because something – ghosts or spirits or whatever – could just appear out of the blue!

"Menou-chan, are you okay? You look a bit pale," Sakuno asked worriedly, noticing my fear.

"Y-yeah, of course! I'm totally fine!" I lied not-so-smoothly, but somehow, she accepted my lie.

Coach Ryuzaki's voice boomed once again. "Time to move, students! Now get on your feet and get outside!"

"Menou-chan, you don't look fine," Ame said, seeing my nervousness.

I waved my hands dismissively and forced a smile. "It's okay. Besides, we're going in a pair!"

She smiled and nodded. I was more than thankful that it was not individual task. We could find a friend to pair up with. Sakuno and Aoi-senpai paired up while Ame and I also become a pair. The two of us were quite nervous, and we both giggled in anxiety. Some people, however, looked quite excited and immediately queued to enter the forest. The two of us silently joined the not-so-long queue, uneager to enter the forest.

"Oi, Menou!" Someone tapped my shoulder from behind.

I turned my head to see Momo-senpai and Ryoma, queuing up behind us. "Oh, hi."

He frowned at my lack of enthusiasm. "What's wrong? You don't sound excited."

In response to his query, he received a quick elbow jab from Ryoma, who was glaring at him. Apparently, Momo-senpai had forgotten about my fear of ghosts, but Ryoma seemed to remember about it. I did not know why he remembered. The taller regular complained to Ryoma angrily, who ignored him, as usual. I sighed and rubbed the back of my neck nervously, seeing the queue in front of Ame and I was getting shorter.

"Next!" I saw Yume-buchou ushering the people to enter the forest. It seemed that third graders were the one planning the event and so were not participating. I could see my brother, Fuji, and other third-year students who watched the younger students entering the forest. I looked back to the front, noticing the queue in front of us was getting shorter. We were up to go soon. Aoi-senpai waved us good-bye excitedly as Sakuno nervously smiled, one hand holding the small candle. After them, it was our turn.

"Menou and Ame, all the best!" Yume-buchou grinned as she slapped my back, hard, and passed the candle to Ame.

I winced and gave her a small, reluctant smile. I seriously hated this. From the look in Ame's face, I could also tell that she was as uneasy as I was. I automatically held her free hand as we entered the dark forest. Gulping, we slowly walked down the small path. The light from the candle barely let us able to see the way and it actually made the whole thing creepier.

"M-M-Menou-chan," Ame stuttered, "W-We'll be fine, right?"

I could only nod as I grasped her hand tighter. I fervently wished nothing would happen as we went to take the ball. It had been ten minutes so far – it felt like a month, really – and nothing had happened. The road was a bit rocky, but it was pretty much a straight way. I was pretty sure we would be reaching it fast enough.

"Oh, we are here!" Ame suddenly exclaimed.

I looked forward to find the small temple and sighed in relief. The journey was half-way done. Ame passed me the candle as she picked up a tennis ball. We looked at each other and nodded. She took the candle back as I quietly walked back, still gripping her hand. After able to get the ball, Ame seemed to be more relaxed, although I could not. I still had this nagging fear that something was about to happen.

Just then, from the corner of my eyes, I saw something moved – and immediately hugged her arm.

Ame gasped. "W-what's it, Menou-chan?"

I gulped, slightly trembling. "T-T-There's something moving there."

"What?" Her voice went an octave higher. "Y-You must be imagining things!"

Just as she said that, we both looked at the same direction and saw something white and glowing, floating towards us. Wordlessly, Ame let out a deafening scream and ran for her life, apparently forgetting me. Out of fear and panic, I also ran towards her, but she was much faster and I was left behind. I kept running blindly, somehow ended up in some unknown place.

Alone

With no light

I almost cried as I paced in a random direction. It was almost totally dark, especially since the moon was mostly hidden by the clouds. I wanted to scream for help, but my voice refused to come out. My whole body was shaking in fear. I had to use both of my hands to remove some branches that had scratched my face and blocked the way. My feet were trapped in some thick, thorny bushes, but I kept walking in hope of finding a way back to the camp.

But the last thing I knew, there was nothing beneath my feet, and everything turned pitch black.

[[[[[[[[[[[]]]]]]]]]]]]

_A/N: Cliffhanger! I think you all can guess what happen though :) Thanks for the long waiting. I'm also redoing chapter 3. The first two chapters have been replaced with the newer version. Check it out if you want to. Oh, and sorry about the lack of fluffiness in this chapter. I promise there will be more to come~_


	13. Summer Camp Part 3

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the character in Prince of Tennis, but I do own my OC(s) and this fanfic's plot.

A/N: I'm still alive! We are once again in Ryoma's POV. Enjoy!

I have redone all the crappy previous chapters! Pleased read them again if you want :)

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**The Dreamer Serve13:**

**Summer Camp Part 3**

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~Ryoma's POV~

I sighed. Momo-senpai, as energetic as always, walked in front of me, taking the candle with him. He was talking happily as we managed to get the ball and were on our journey back to the camp. I barely paid attention to what he was talking about though. I bet it was nothing important. It had to be something about how he wanted to show the Viper the ball he managed to get in a very short time. We were the last to leave, but since we – or him – ran towards the temple, we finished the test quite fast. I shoved my hands into my pockets and just responded lazily when he asked.

By the time we arrived, it was drizzling, but I barely paid attention to it since there was a ruckus among the tennis club members. I saw out coach and the third-year seniors, including Tezuka-buchou, who looked unusually distressed, and Oishi-fukubuchou, were discussing about something. Among them, there was a girl who was stuttering and shaking her head frantically, while her captain was trying to calm her down. I remembered seeing her with Menou. She was her partner for the courage test.

Speaking of her, I did not see her around.

Her partner was back, but she was nowhere to be seen.

...

No, I did not want to think about it.

It had to be wrong...

Whatever I was thinking had to be wrong...

Nothing happened to her, right?

Before I did anything, Momo-senpai beat me to it. He ran towards the group and I ran after him. "Eiji-senpai, what's happening?" Momo-senpai asked the older regular anxiously as we both joined the group.

He faced us with a worried face and exclaimed, "We cannot find Menou-chan! She's missing!"

I was always glad to be right, but at that moment, I hated my intuition to be correct.

I could feel my palms were getting sweaty from anxiety, which rarely occurred to me. That stupid girl and her idiocy...

"_Calm yourself down, Ryoma,_" I thought. "_Panicking won't solve anything._"

"Tezuka, we have to search for her," the girl's captain stated urgently, her arms were still wrapped around the panic girl.

My captain nodded while our coach spoke up, "The girls should stay, I will ask the boys to go to find her."

Tezuka-buchou agreed and quickly gathered all the tennis club members. There was urgency in his tone as he told us what to do. Figure, she was his sister after all. No matter how stoic and calm he could be, he truly cared about his sister. The boys of tennis club immediately grabbed a flashlight and went to the forest, splitting into small groups. I was with Momo-senpai again. The two of us walked back the track to the temple, looking around carefully.

I tried to find some traces of her presence, but it appeared that we could not find any clue. The drizzle slowly turned into a rain and it was increasing in intensity. Both the rain and the dark forest made it harder for us to find something that could lead us to her. I had a feeling that she went off track. The whole courage test thing was not her forte at all. She might have been scared by the "ghosts" and ran the wrong directions. Silently, I walked deeper into the forest, where there was no clear track.

As I had predicted, there was no clue of her. I sighed in frustration. Just when I was about to turn back, I thought I saw something white hanging on a tree. I was not sure but after flashing the flashlight towards the direction, I really saw a small white cloth. I walked closer to inspect it. It was a torn piece of a slightly bloodied bandage. I remembered that she injured her hand few days before. The cloth was hanging on a broken, old branch of a tree.

Trying to picture what had happened, I thought she might have fallen somewhere and tried to get her balance back by grabbing the nearest thing to her. The thing happened to be a weak branch which broke when she held it. It meant that she had fallen down somewhere. I slowly looked around the thick bushes and kicked a pebble. The pebble made a continuous noise and that made me realize of the presence of a barely noticeable small cliff.

Something clicked in my mind just then.

Looking down in haste, I saw her lying motionlessly on the ground below the cliff. I was not sure, but I thought my heart stopped for a second there.

I rushed towards her, sliding down the cliff, hastily inspecting her condition. From the way her chest rose and fell, I could tell she was still alive. Thank goodness for that. Below her head, there was a small puddle of blood. Perhaps, she had hit her head hard as she fell, which explained why she was unconscious. Her clothes were slightly torn here and there, leaving small scrapes. She was wet from head to toe. The rain had drenched her completely. I knew we had to return to the camp fast to get her treated.

Gently, I lifted her head off the ground with one hand and supported her torso with my other free arm. I shook her gently, calling her name. After several shakes, I felt her stirred, opening her eyes slowly. Her eyes were hazy and a little unfocused. A moment of silence ensued between us, before she finally broke it.

"Ryoma-kun?" Her voice was weak, unsure. "Where-"

"You fell down a small cliff," I cut her off before she finished asking, jerking my thumb towards the top of the cliff.

She frowned, trying to remember what had happened to her as she sat up slowly. "Y-yeah, I kind of remember."

A strong wind suddenly blew around us and she shivered violently, instinctively getting closer to me. I was torn between pushing her away or letting her stay that way. However, seeing her flushed face and ragged breathing, I allowed her to stay that way, knowing something was wrong. Wrapping one arm to support her torso, I used my free hand to check her temperature. She was running a high fever.

I did recall taking note of her drenched clothes due to the rain. The blowing chilly wind and night-time cold temperature were not helping at all. To make her feel warmer, I took off my jacket and wrapped it around her shaking frame. She subconsciously pulled it closer around her, but her shaking did not lessen. In fact, she looked worse as seconds passed. She looked ready to faint at any time.

Seeing her condition, I asked her, rather impatiently, "Can you walk?"

Silently, she nodded, trying to get back to her feet. I assisted her by holding both of her hands. I let her hands go as she fully stood up. Just when she managed to stand by herself, she let out a small gasp and fell back to the ground, one hand holding onto her right ankle. I knelt down next to her, taking her hand away from her swollen ankle. She had sprained it when she fell.

"S-sorry," she gasped, looking at me apologetically.

Sighing, I knew I have no choice but to carry her back to the camp site. It was a bit embarrassing, but not that I could worry about that, not with her condition. I rubbed the back of my neck before kneeling in front of her, looking at her from the corner of my eyes. She stared at me in shock, puzzled. I was a bit frustrated that she did not get the hint. I wanted to get her back fast and there she was, slowing me down.

"Menou," I quietly called her with her first name – for the first time – staring at her from the corner of my eyes.

Albeit hesitantly, she slowly climbed onto my back, looping her arms around my neck. I supported her legs with my hands under her knees and rose from the ground. She was light, as I expected after seeing her thin and small figure. She murmured another apology as I started to walk uphill. After going down the cliff, I had no choice but to make a detour to get back to the camping site.

The path was not too difficult, but it was longer than the original one. I was not worried whether I could make it since I knew I could make it even with her on my back. I was worried about her condition if we took too long to reach the site. Her breaths felt really hot on my neck and I could feel her shivering form on my back. Since I was carrying her, I thought she could use some rest. A rest might be good for her condition.

"Hey," I called her quietly, "Get some rest."

She shifted slightly and asked in a weak voice. "Huh?"

"Rest," I told her with a commanding tone, "You're sick."

It seemed she got it finally as she murmured a small 'yes'. She was not in a condition to argue after all. Soon enough, her head rest against my shoulder and her grips slackened slightly. I could only feel the gentle movement of her chest as she inhaled and exhaled. Her breaths were quick and short even when she was sleeping. I tightened my holds on her and quickened my pace.

About ten minutes later, I saw a bright light which could only come from the camping site. There was a sigh of relief escaping from my lips. She could be treated properly once we got to the site. The moment I reached the venue, there was a loud noise from the crowd. Apparently, I was the last to return and the one who came back with Menou. I noticed that my captain was rushing towards me, Fuji-senpai close behind him. I nudged the sleeping girl with my shoulder to wake her up. She exhaled a shaky breath as she opened her eyes slowly.

"Menou," Tezuka-buchou said in a low tone. He was quick to stand next to me, bending down to her eyes' level and holding her shoulder.

"Kunimitsu-nii," she murmured tiredly, half-conscious, looking at her older brother. Her arms unwrapped themselves from around my shoulders and she extended them towards Tezuka-buchou, like a small child asking for his mother to carry him. The older of the siblings immediately understood and took her into his arms, carrying her princess-style. The younger girl wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face into his chest, returning to her slumber. Tezuka-buchou pulled her close to him and I could see relief written all over his feature. His gaze met mine and he inclined his head slightly, thanking me silently. I could only nod back.

The next person to approach her was Fuji-senpai, who put his palm against her flushed cheek gently. His eyebrows furrowed. "Tezuka, she's really ill. We should get her to the hospital."

He nodded in agreement and hurriedly rushed towards our coach, who had been waiting with her car. They entered the car and left in haste towards the hospital. The girl's team captain sighed in relief and suddenly changed back to her usual demeanor. She was ordering the people to get back to the cottage since it was raining which the members immediately followed. Oishi-fukubuchou was doing the same.

Once I reached the cottage, Momo-senpai threw a towel at me to dry myself. He was scolding me for disappearing suddenly without telling him, but was grinning as he told me how he was glad I could find Menou and returned safely. I nodded to reply him and gratefully accepted the towel, sitting down on an empty couch as I dried my hair. Although I should have felt relieved that Menou was safe, there was a disappointment as I saw her left with her brother. Deep inside, I wanted to be the one who stayed with her.

...

I palmed my lightly blushing face. Damn this stupid feeling...

"It's okay, Echizen," Fuji-senpai said. I looked at him in surprise. I did not notice he approached me and thankfully, my blush was gone.

He smiled. "Menou's fine now, thanks to you. She's lucky you can find her fast."

I shrugged. "It's nothing."

"However, it seems that Tezuka isn't willing to let someone to take over his place yet," he added with a grin, to which I was completely taken aback. "You have to pass him first to get her."

"What-" I started to speak, but he had walked away, humming happily.

He stopped half-way, however, and looked at me. "It will be tough, Echizen. Good luck."

I mentally cursed. He knew it. He knew about what I was feeling about our captain's younger sister. And he knew how tough our captain could be when the matter was related to his sister. I realized it too, but then, she could be worth the problem.

Could she?

I thought about how she smiled at me and cheered for me during a match. I recalled how she looked so happy when I gave her the doll and how I felt happy about it too. I remembered what I felt when we danced together. I enjoyed teaching her to improve her tennis skills with her strong will, even if she was all clumsy about it. I wanted to protect her when she looked so weak and fragile. I wanted to be the one who stayed next to her when she needed someone.

Thinking about all these, I realize something important.

I like her...

...and she was worth the problem

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_A/N: Yes! It's a major improvement! The fics will really go a different way from the real Prince of Tennis' story from now on. It's all for the sake of the development of their relationship. And I'm currently writing the fics based on Futari no Samurai._

_Stay tune for more about Ryoma and Menou's relationship :)_


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